Fate-Seihai High!
by Legends Storyteller
Summary: This is a new year at Seihai High! It is also Matthew's first year as a highschool girl! A new school, a new life and new friends...or so she hopes. Gambatte, Matthew-chan! An affectionate parody of highschool comedies with the many characters of the Fate franchise.
1. Welcome to Seihai High!

It was the chirping of the birds that woke her up.

It was a sweet wake up call, like smelling the nice odor of a recently baked cake from afar. At first, it was just enough to make her ears twitch, but slowly her consciousness came to her completely, and the twitters became more and more clear. Soon, she couldn't pretend to sleep anymore and opened her eyes, although reluctantly. She could feel the softness of her sheets covering her body and the warmth surrounding her inside her fortress of absolute comfiness. It felt just like a kotatsu!

She honestly wanted to laze around in bed much longer, but she knew she had to get up. There was also another reason why she was willing to come out of her comfort. It was because today was an important day; the beggining of a new life for her!

Yes, she could feel that today would be a fateful day. She could tell there was this feeling in the air, this feeling which usually accompanied a perfect day; a smell of renewing, like the phoenix rising again from its ashes!

"Ah, it's not good, I have to calm down!" She said as she pinched her own cheek to get rid of the last traces of sleepiness. But even though she says that, there was no way in the world for her to calm down.

She sat on the bed and stretched out happily like a cat rigt after a nap. Then, she stood up and headed toward her closet, all the while taking out her pajamas and throwing it away without looking where it landed because of the excitation. All her attention and her readiness were hogged by the double door of the closet.

Oh, it was a very simple-looking closet, made of wood large enough to contain a girl's wardrobe. What made it important was the treasure inside! It was a unique, legendary, priceless piece of heavenly treasureness, a once-in-a-lifetime artifact!

With trembling hands, she slowly approached the doors of the closet, and firmly gripped the handles with her two hands.

"All right. I've put all my will into waiting until today before I could try it out. Now, the moment has come!" She declared in a calm yet serious voice befitting of the situation.

Then, after taking a long, deep breath, she suddenly opened the closet with all the strength of the universe dwelling in her arms!

There. There it was!

"My unifoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooorm!"

Yes, it was this mythical piece of clothes that every human gets to eventually wear one day: a highschool uniform!

Every boys and girls could finally put it on for the first time one day. Arguably, there could only be one first time. Only one moment of utter bliss where the freshman student get to shed his own skin and put on a new one (putting it on once before to see how it looks on you doesn't count~!).

"All right, Matthew, time to put it on!" She declared with the voice of a hungry devil and jumped at the uniform hanging inside the closet!

Her name was Matthew. Matthew Kyrielite, sir!

As you could tell from the last few minutes, today was a great day -her first day as a highschool girl! And not any highschool, she was admitted at the very famous and very prestigious Seihai High highschool, one of the most renowned schools in the countries! These kind of schools would normally be out of her reach, but thanks to her hard work and determination, she was now rewarded with this uniform!

Well, to be more precise, today wasn't the first day of school but the day of the entrance ceremony where the principal will great the new students. But it was important nonetheless! It was her chance to meet new faces, to greet persons she had never met, and maybe make new friends.

"Ah, I wonder what kind of person I will meet and befriend! It will a great adventure for the new me!"

Matthew happily fished around her stuff, readying herself completely before heading toward her bed.

"My glasses, where are they...ah, there they are! Now, how much time do I have left? I still haven't has breakfa-..."

Suddenly, at the same moment she glanced toward her alarm clock to check what time it was, her mind suddenly went blank.

Today was the entrance ceremony. She remembered it started at 8 a.m, she had read it in the letter she had received. That's why, to make sure she would wake up on time, she had set up her alarm clock for 7 a.m. Since she had woken up on her own, she had assumed her clock had yet to ring...

"...I'm laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate!"

* * *

 **Prologue: Welcome to Seihai High!**

* * *

"Why?! Whywhywhywhywhywhywhy?!"

She had made sure to set up an alarm to wake up at 7 a.m, so why was it already past 8:15?! She _had_ set it up for sure. So why didn't she wake up on time? Could it be it hadn't be enough to wake her up? Was she that hopeless a person?!

(Aaah, that's because I was too excited last night and couldn't sleep!)

In any case, Matthew was now running like there was no tomorrow. In the streets, everyone was looking at her with astoundished looks.

(They're judging me! They're totally judging me! Their faces scream: 'How could you be late on your first day as a highschool girl?'; 'How could you forget to put a toast in your mouth while running'!)

Actually, she hadn't forgot about the bread toast, it's just that she had been too much in a hurry to ready it. As her parents weren't at home right now, nobody had made breakfast. Of course, she had planned to prepare a toast to chew on as she ran, as well as a spare toast and a spare toast for the spare toast. After all, the toast was one of the most important elements of a first day.

"Aah, it will amount to nothing anyway if I'm late for the entrance ceremony! I gotta hurry!"

But her cry of despair didn't make her legs stronger nor did it boost her stamina, and after running a few kilometers she was forced to stop in order to catch her breath. She was breathing so hard she couldn't speak, but she had to keep on!

"Useless, it's all useless." She lamented as she fell to her knee, in despair in front of the cruel realization. "The school is way too far for me to reach it on foot, and there is no train going there directly!"

It...was...without hope...

Such disgrace had befallen her. Matthew's hands fell to the ground, and the next moment she was lying there on the pavement, waiting for death to come. There was no hope, no hope, no hope, no hope...

"...No."

Her hands ungraciously spread on the ground like a loser's hands clenched into tight fists, and her figure laying face-down rose, slowly but surely. She put all her might into her feet, and stood up on her two trembling legs.

She took a step.

Then another.

And another.

And another!

She ran, forgetting her exhaustion, forgetting her hardships, forgetting even her despair!

She ran for her youth, for her dreams. For. Her. Destiny!

"Hooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I can't give up now, not after all I have come through! This is the most important day of my life, so I must go...ooooooonnnn!"

She could feel a flame litting inside her heart. It was the flame of hope! She could still make it! Right now, it was 8:20, but the entrance ceremony only ended at 9:00. That was because there was a visit of the school before the actual speeches, and the shool grounds are huge. It was rather unusual, but it played in her favor!

* * *

 **8:25**

* * *

"Sei! Hai! Sei! Hai! Sei! Haiiiii!"

Even after running straight at full speed for five minutes, Matthew didn't show any sigh of stopping in her tracks! That's because she kept enhancing her performance by shouting the school's name as an encouragement war cry.

She kept running, but she was still very far from Seihai High. At any rate, she would have to run non-stop for at least half an hour. She didn't know if she could pull it off...

(No! I musn't think this! I must believe in myself. Believe in the Matthew that believes in me!)

All her limbs were screaming in pain. The wind was roaring as in one of the great battlefields of the past. She had to bear with it! Right now, all the birds, all the random passer-bys and the sun high in the sky, all of them could be witness of her steel-hard determination!

"Ah...! Watch out, watch ooout!"

But she stopped paying attention for a single second, and when she looked in front of herself again, she could see someone walking calmly right in front of her. The stranger heard her warning, but they just had the time to turn their head around that she was already on them. There was a great clash, and both of them flew in opposite direction (at least in Matthew's mind)!

"Ah, are you alright-"

"Ah! I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, but I have no time to lose!"

It was extremely impolite to barely look at somebody whom you just tackled at full speed, but the situation was too urgent for her to feel concerned about the man's white pink-stripped smoking, his white hair that made him look like a sheep or the pink ribbons in it; just as she said, she had no time to lose!

"Ah, if you can run like that I guess you're all right."

The man looked at her back as she ran away. He lowerd his raised hand and passed the other through his whittish hair.

"Young people sure are healthy nowadays, that reassure me. Ah, wasn't it an uniform from my school? Well, then I guess we'll meet each other again."

With a michevious smile on his face, the man started walking quietly again as if nothing had happened.

"Now, I have a speech to give."

* * *

 **8:26**

* * *

Until now, she had been able to simply run in an almost straight line, but the easy part stopped here for Matthew. From this point on, the town was separated in two by a large river, and the closest bridge was still a little further ahead.

"I just have to take the next right turn...!"

But as soon as she did turn at the corner of the street.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

BAM!

She ran into someone for the second time in less than five minutes.

(H-how clumsy...! If I keep bumping into people like that, I'll never reach my goal on time. But, wait, could it be...)

What happened just now, could it be...the famous fated meeting at the corner of the street?! The legendary event where, on their first day, a highschool girl run with a toast in her mouth (that part was already screwed up anyway) and run into their fated school friend at the corner of a street as they are so clumsy! But it only counted if the other party was a highschool student.

So Matthew looked up to see the person who had fallen to the ground in sync with her, and...

(Bingo! Bonus point!)

Matthew clenched her fist in victory as soon as she saw the...boy?...girl? She was really confused at the gender of the student whom she had made fall. They were wearing a boy's uniform (and from the same highschool as her! Another bonus point!), but their face looked really feminine and they had messy blond hair in a short ponytail. In any case, since they were wearing a boy's uniform, she decided them to be a 'he'. The boy was actually quite short in height, but when he stood up and faced hair he emitted an aura of manly confidence which made up for that. He had the face of a delinquent!

"Hey, what was that for! Watch where you're going when you run!" The unknown boy snapped at her.

"I'm sorry! It's just I'm in a hurry...wait, if you are in the same school as I, aren't you late as well?"

"And what if I am? Who are you anyway?"

Matthew decided that sitting down on the dirty ground wasn't the right position for an introduction, so she stood up and bowed.

"My name is Matthew. Kyrielite Matthew. Nice to meet y-"

"Mashu? That's a strange name."

"No, it's Matt-"

"Anyway, the name's Mordred! Watch where yer going next time, Mashu-chan."

"Wait, I tell you it's-"

But Mordred-san doesn't listen to her supplication and start running in the direction opposite to where she was going.

"Wait, isn't the school in that direction?!" She called out to the running blondy, who didn't stop but looked back at her.

"I know a shortcut! I've been looking forward to entering this school for years, so I know the perfect way!"

"Is that so? Then can I come with you?!"

"If you can follow me, sure!"

A light of hope appeared in front of Matthew. She might be more on time (or rather less late) than she had expected if she took a shortcut. She might even be on time for the headmaster's speech.

But as soon as she ran after Mordred, the latter stopped dead all of sudden and looked in her direction with a dreaded look.

"Huh? What is it, Mordred-san?" Matthew realized he wasn't looking at her, but behind her.

A shadow of horror showed up on Mordred's face.

"My bread toast!"

At his desperate call, Matthew immediatly understood what it was about and spun around. When she did, she saw a piece of square toasted bread laying on the dusty pavement, like a soldier shot in a war. It had most likely fallen when they had collided. But it was too late to put t back in his mouth, filthy as it was now.

Matthew gritted her teeth at the dreadful truth, and turned toward Mordred with a compassionate yet realistic expression. She knew this pain of losing a comrad; she knew just how important it is to have this piece of toast in your mouth.

But...!

"It's too late for that one. We must move on, Mordred-san!" Matthew put her hand on Mordred's shoulder as she sayed this poor excuse.

Mordred clenched his teeth, but he must have had a will of steel because he turned around and started running without looking back.

"Come one now, Mashu!"

"Hai!"

* * *

 **8:30**

* * *

"Where is it, Mordred-san?"

"Just up ahead, Mashu-chan!"

Matthew had decided to follow Mordred because he said he knew a shortcut, but no matter how far they ran, there was no sign of a bridge or a hidden passage. She was starting to seriously wonder if Mordred wasn't just an hallucination of her exhausted mind.

"See? It's right here!"

"Huh? Where? I can't see anything."

He said they had arrived to the shortcut, but all Matthew could see was the river just like before. There was nothing that would permitt to cross it.

"Hum, Mordred-san? What is it that you...- MORDRED-SAN!"

But just when she was about to ask him what he meant by shortcut, Matthew saw Mordred taking a sprint toward the river...and jump!

"Mordred-san, what in the-"

"Follow me, Mashu! The river's less wide at this location!"

He was right: when she checked, she saw that indeed the two riversides were closer than before.

(But it doesn't mean it's alright to jump into a river like that! Mordred-saaaaaaan!)

But Mordred wasn't waiting for her and swam fiercely toward the opposite riverside. The river's current wasn't so strong that it would sweep them away effortlessly, but it was still not something someone would try to cross in their right mind. However, Matthew didn't have much choice; she had lost time to follow Mordred because he said he knew a shortcut to the school, which meant that either she followed him right now or she could say goodbye to the entrane ceremony!

"I hate youu!"

In turn, Matthew dashed toward the current of water and jumped into the water with a superbe dive worthy of a dolphin. The contact with the cold water was atrocious yet refreshing after running for so long. This caused her to have a second of lack of reaction; which proved to be a mistake! She felt the current pushing her aside, whil she tried her uttmost to swim forward. She could see Mordred waiting on the opposite shore, looking at her effort to be a fish.

"Sei! Hai! Sei! Blgldlabe!"

And she drank a little water too.

"Gambatte, Mashu-chan!"

"Hoooaaaaablarglgabelglaaaaaaalblglaaaaa!"

It was no use. Her strength left her little by little, and the current felt like it was getting stronger with each second passing. She almost felt like giving up and abandoning herself to this unstoppable force driving her further away from her objective. Wouldn't it be alright? She tried her best...but now she felt sleepy...

(Goodbye world...)

"Come on, you're almost here!"

"...Ha?"

Upon entrusting her fate to luck, Matthew heard Mordred's quick footsteps. Ah, so he's going without her? It's fine. He did tell her she had to be able to follow.

(Sayonara, Mordred-san. Thank you for everything...Huh?!)

But then she realized,...the footsteps were coming back! She raised her head from the water, and saw Mordred jumping back into the water and swim furiously toward her.

"Come on, grab my hand!"

She saw his outstretched hand a couple meters in front of her.

(Mordred...san!)

It was stupid to have come back for her! This way they would both be taken away by the repeated assault of the water's furious fists (mental image)! But it had reachen her. Mordred-san's determination reached her heart and filled her body with a newfound energy. Using that energy, she swam, and she reached out her hand toward his!

"Gotcha!"

Now that they were holding to each other, Matthew saw that indeed the shore wasn't so far off anymore! So they swam, they swam with all the strength allowed by God to mere mortals.

"Oraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"For Toast-kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuublarglgbalb!"

And then...

They did it!

"We...we made it. We reached the shoreline!"

The two of them climbed on the green grass, symbol of their victory, and they both collapsed on the floor. Matthew's clothes were so wet they had probably fused with her skin, but she didn't care.

"Come on..." She pleaded. "We have to...keep going!"

"Yeah..."

They clinged to each other's shoulder and used their combined strength to stand up.

"Even if we don't have any strength left."

"Ah, don't ya worry about that. We shouldn't need to run anymore."

"Eh? Really!?"

"Yeah, but we'll still need to jump."

"Huh?"

* * *

 **8:37**

* * *

"-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH-!"

"Stop screaming like that, or else you'll miss the opportunity to jump down!"

"-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!"

"I said calm down! The school's only a couple stations away!"

"BUT WHY DID WE HAVE TO DO IT LIKE THAT?!"

Matthew should have seen it coming. Oh, she should have known nothing good could happen if she followed the sickfuck who had her jump into the river! She hadn't understood immediatly what he meant by jumping, but when she heard him talking bout the train, she was relieved that she could be spared the running (although she was soaking wet). But what she didn't know...

Was that there was no train station near their location!

That's why, Mordred took her near the railway, and when the train arrived, he grabbed her and jumped on the roof!

"WHY ON THE ROOF? AAAAAAAAAAAAAH...!"

"What's wrong?! I can't hear you because of the wind!"

She was clinging with all her strength to the metallic roof of the train while avoiding to be roasted alive by the electric wires. She couldn't help but tremble in fear like a prey that has been cornered by a predator and is begging for her life.

"When we arrive at destination, we'll have to jump down!"

"Jump down?! That's even more dangerous! Why don't we wait for it to stop?!"

"Because it won't stop before the neighboring town!"

"What?! No way, no way, no way!"

The situation was so unfunny that Matthew regretted not giving up in the river and let the water lead her to anywhere safer than here. Jumping from a running train was just the best way to break their neck!

"We got no choice! That way we traveled most of the distance until Seihai High!"

"That's not the question! We're gonna die! We're totally gonna die if we jump!"

"Heh? Is it that bad?"

"Yes! Yes it is!"

"What?! I can't hear you!"

"Please save me, Kami-sama!"

"Anyway, we're almost there! At my signal, jump!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-"

* * *

 **8:43**

* * *

Finally, Seihai High's gateway was into view. Even from outside, the shool grounds looked immense. But while most of the school had a very modern feeling to it, the gate was built in a traditional Japanese style, making it looked like the gate to some shrine. But Matthew didn't even care anymore.

"Ah...aaaaaa..." With a last groan of pain, she stumbled and sprawled on the ground. "The hardness of the floor, I can feel it again. Thank god it isn't the metallic roof of a train or the tumultuous current of a river. I can feel the hard, straight floor under me...one time too many!"

With a roar, she stomped the ground with her foot and rose from her crouched position.

"I...I did iiiiiiit! I'm on time!"

"We could have arrived sooner if you hadn't chickened out and jumped further ahead."

"You don't have the right to blame me for anything."

Luckily, she had managed to land in some bushes on the side of the railway. It had taken a few minutes longer, but she could finally behold her goal. But at what price? The strong wind on top of the train had efficiently dried her uniform, but her hair was completely messy, wet and filled with leaves from the bush she landed in. In a word, she looked like she met with a tornado.

Mordred,on the other hand, looked so fine it was surnatural. His ponytail was perfectly tied up and he was brimming with energy.

(Thinking back on it, how comes he knows such a 'shortcut'? Don't tell me he does this often!)

But whatever, in the end it was still thanks to him that she wasn't (too) late. As to the fact that she almost died several time in less than an hour, she could almost forget it thanks to the hapiness she felt upon walking in direction her new school. That's right, so much had happened in so little time, but she was still the highschool girl, Matthew Kyrielite! She had to act responsibly as part of her new life.

"Mordred-san?"

"What is it?"

"Since we're already on a first-name basis -and since we faced death several times together-, how about being friends?" Matthew used the experience she had acumulated from her training and made a perfect smile of friendly kindness.

"Ha? Friend with a small fry like you?"

Ugh! She felt a stake ruthlessly sink into her chest, and her perfect smile almost faltered.

"I don't know, you're kind of a whiny, spineless coward who can't even jump off a train."

Several other stakes brutally pierced through her with each extra comment from Mordred. Her smile was threatening of crumbling apart.

"If I was to choose a friend, hum." Mordred, oblivious to the suffering he was causing her, put up a confident smile on his face and Matthew could see stars shining in his eyes. "It would be a macho guy, the kind that would take on an army with you! A true bro!"

"Just say it that you don't care about meeeeeeeee!"

Matthew couldn't take it anymore and escaped toward the school gate while unleaching tears of pain and regrets.

"Ah, wait it's still not-"

Mordred tried to tell her something, but he was too late. At the very second Matthew set one foot inside the school's territory, a shadow appeared in front of her, and she was sent flying by the attack of a wooden katana. She landed several meters away from the gate, just at the feet of the treacherous blondy who had failed to warn her.

"What are you doing? I told you to wait." He scolded her as if she was a turbulent kid who disobeyed her parents. Seeing him taking the expression of a responsable adult made her want to strangle him. "There's still one obstacle before we can go in."

He looked at the gate with a determined gaze, ready to fight. When Matthew stood up and looked over the gate where she had been standing ten seconds ago, she understood why he was on his guard. The one who hit her with a wooden sword, was an asian man with purple long hair tied into a pony tail. He was wearing the uniform of Seihai High's staff, but he didn't look like a teacher or anything of the sort.

He was looking at them with a calm smiling expression and rested his blade on his shoulder.

"Ho, it's you Mordred-kun."

"Sasaki-san." Mordred greeted with a defying voice. Obviously he had been waiting for this encounter.

"I thought it was strange that I didn't see you earlier, but to think you'd have the nerves to be late." The man named Sasaki Kojiro pointed his sword toward them in a sign of challenge. "Those who aren't at shool on time will have to face me if they want to get inside!"

"Yeah, you really haven't changed, old man Sasaki." Mordred cracked his knuckles. "I'll show you what I got!"

He was about to dash head first toward Sasaki-san, but someone got ahead of him. That someone was Matthew.

"Haaaaaaa! If you think a mere human will stop this new me after I've gotten this far, you're wrong!"

She had had enough! After everything that happened in the past hour, facing a human felt like a joke to her. She was also quite tired of having the entire world stand between her and her dream life! In theory, it was quite simple: he was a simple human being after all. If she just forced her way through the gateway, there was nothing he could do to stop her. But that was only in theory.

"Hm, what a hasty little girl." Sasaki-san closed an eye confidently and held his wooden katana in two hands.

"Wha-!"

When he struck, Matthew couldn't see it. No, it was more than speed, it was as though he had unleashed three attacks at the exact same time! One struck her left leg, another one her right arm and the last reache dher head. There was no way she could protect against something like this; Matthew was sent flying again.

But she immediatly got up, and resumed the assault with even more speed and force!

"I won't stop now!"

Sasaki-san's expression didn't change and once again he sent her back to the stone pavement like it was nothing. But that didn't stop her from getting up and starting to attack again!

This time, the samurai staff member lost his smile and all three strikes landed on her head. Taking such attacks again and again should be too much for any normal humans to recover from instantly, but it wasn't just any normal person facing the samurai. It was a highschool girl!

"Wha, incredible Mashu-chan! You brush off his Tsubame Gaeshi like it's nothing!" Mordred cheerfuly said after she got up for the fourth time.

"I must agree, it's the first time I see someone getting up so many time from my sword technique." Sasaki-san smiled wryly.

"Hehe, who do you think I am?" Matthew crossed her arms and puffed out her chest in pride. "I can take many hits without faltering. That's the power of my determination!"

Still, even if she could take his attacks on, she was still unable to get passed the gatekeeper in any way. They didn't have much time left, but she couldn't seem to progress any further than that.

"Oi, don't forget me!" Mordred approached Matthew and put a hand on her shoulder. He looked right into her eyes. "If we want to get through this guy, we'll have to work together!"

"Yes!...Wait, wh-what are you doing? Hey, what the- Mordred-san!?"

Matthew had expected for them to go and fight side by side against their seemingly invincible enemy; that's what would happen in a manga. But instead, Mordred grabbed her and lift her in front of him. He had much more strength than she had expected, and didn't seem to have any problem lifting her (not that she's heavy or anything!).

"Yeah, with this I have...the perfect meatshield! Chaaaaaaaaaaargeeeeeeee!"

"Interesting! Come and show me what you're worth, you two!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-"

* * *

 **9:50**

* * *

"Now, I'll call the students' representative to make an inaugural speech, Galahad-san."

"Present!"

Inside the school gym, rows of chairs were arranged in front of the promontory with a student sitting in each one, at the exception of two. Among the crowd of students, a boy with purple hair stood up and headed to the stairs leading to the promontory. It looked like the ceremony had pratically ended.

"Heh, looks like I even missed the principal's speech."

Matthew had just entered the room, and a few heads turned toward her. Some made shocked expression upon seeing her, other bit their lips as if they knew what had happened to her, and the rest didn't even turned their head around to look at her. Matthew herself didn't want to know what she looked like. The only thing she knew was that her whole body hurt so much it confirmed she was still alive.

The students' reprensentative was speaking to everyone in the room, but she couldn't hear him and she felt her consciousness wavering. She didn't knew where he went but he disappeared after they got through Sasaki Kojiro-san's attack, and she was the only one of the two who reached this place in the end.

Though, what he told her at the end...

 _'See ya, Mashu-chan.'_

 _Mordred-san had put her back on the ground, but she fell like a stringless puppet as soon as he did._

 _'Ya know, yer meatshield demostration was really something. I might actually consider being yer friend.'_

"Hahaha...asshole."

The only part of the speech she was able to hear was the very end:

"...We all made it until here. Now, it is time to sail on the sea that is your highschool years and head toward your dreams!"

A thunderous applause followed the end of the speech, but Matthew couldn't even raise her hands.

"Somehow, I feel like...some of my dreams have been shattered today..."

Her legs couldn't support her weight anymore and her body starting its descent toward the ground.

"Now, would you let this old man get some sleep..."

Her vision faded to black at the exact moment her body collapsed on the floor.

What a first day, Matthew-chan!

* * *

 _Thank you for reading!_

 _This is it, my attempt at being funny. I don't know how it turned out, but I sure had a blast writing it. Concerning the serie itself, well it's your average highschool comedy parody work so expect a lot of toyed with cliché, many jokes about the nasuverse and many jokes you may not get. This si my sinful pleasure._

 _This will be a story without a predetermined plot or length, just a serie of one-shot I'll write when I feel like it or want to take a break from Rongodamiant by writing something more lighthearted._

 _~Legends Storyteller_


	2. Let's Visit Seihai High!

_A/N: I everyone and thank you for taking time to read this serie. I just wanted to apologize for the ridiculous length of this chapter; I think you'd believe me if I told you things got out of hand._

 _I had to write this chapter over the span of two months because of exams and holidays. I also got a bit tired near the end. This, I hope none of this will affect the chapter's quality._

* * *

This time, it really was her alarm clock that woke her up.

 _*Beep* *Beep*_

Matthew winced in her sleep when she heard the screeching ringing of the cloak on her shelf. She wanted to stay in the warm world of the blanket and keep her eyes sut to sleep some more. But the cringeworthy alarm kept shouting at her to wake up and its metaphorical hands was dragging Matthew out of her peaceful sleep.

Little by little, her mind floated away from the sweet dreams where concerns and responsabilities didn't exist, and her sensitivity to reality came back to her. Matthew's eyes delicately opened and filled with the dim morning light flowing through her window. Once her mind was fully awakened, she saw her bedroom.

Resigning herself to the idea that she couldn't go back to sleep even though the warmth of her blanket was still surrounding her, she had no choice but to get up. When she did however, she felt an unexpected pain in her arms and her back. Come to think of it, her whole body was completely sore and she felt really heavy for some reasons.

"Ouch...aw, aw...Oh, even my butt hurts!"

Matthew groaned and ignored the pain running through her body to get up from her bed while wondering why she was in that state.

Then, she remembered why. She remembered the day yersteday; her being late for the entrance ceremony, her desperate yet determined race through the town, the weird man with ribbons she ran into, her deadly ordeals before she could reach the school, as well as the one who had her go through them.

Now that she was remembering all these events which happened in the span of an hour or so, she noticed that she barely had any memory of the ceremony itself.

"Although it was supposed to be the most importantevent of the day, I fainted as soon as I arrived there..." Matthew cried while she dragged her wreck toward the bathroom to wash her face.

Even her reflection in the mirror of the bathroom showed just how much she had suffered. From what she remembered, she fainted when the entrance ceremony was ending, and she was transported to the infirmary where she woke up several hours later. She then walked home wrapped in bandages because of the injuries she got when she jumped off the train.

Matthew was extremely sturdy for a girl her age (or for a normal human being) so she didn't need to keep them after she returned home, and she didn't even have a cold from her swim in the river.

"Uuugh, I don't want to keep hinking about it. I want to forget all about it!"

One thing that was magic about sleep was how it could erase her memories for a short time even after she woke up. Unfortunately, she was bound to remember what had happened the day before and all Matthew could do was whine pitifully with her painful back bent forward.

What was supposed to be her first day as a true highschool girl, her first step toward her dream life had been a complete disaster.

(I want to start over. Give me a reset button, God!)

It was in this this sullen mood that Matthew went downstair. In term of size and of disposition, her house was pretty average, although it was filled with many strange objects. Right now, she was the only one living in this house meant for at least three people. It had been like that for a while; since her parents worked oversea, they were rarely home and Matthew had to take care of her home all by herself.

She didn't really mind though. It wasn't like she never saw her parents of the entire year. They would also occasionally call her to check up on her, so it wasn't not like she felt lonely. And also, this situation had helped her develop a certain independance; Matthew was confident that she could fill the role of a housewife right now.

"Hmm, but before being a housewife, I must be a highschool girl! Cheer up, Matthew!"

That's right! Just because the first day was a disaster didn't mean she had no way of turning the situation around! If she kept dwelling on the past, she would never be able to move forward.

(Where has your fighting spirit gone, Matthew Kyrielite?! Weren't you supposed to be born anew?! This highschool uniforme is supposed to be your new skin! Wear it with pride!)

"Yoshaaa!"

Matthew roared up to show her determination, though in truth she was just trying to muster courage to face her fate.

"Alright! It'll be A-L-R-I-G-H-T! And it's not like yersteday was the first day. After all, I didn't even get to show up at the entrance ceremony. That's right! Today is the day where I'll meet my classmates for the first time, so today is my real first day!" Matthew herself wasn't sure why she was so serious about her first day, but it's something very important to her so please don't judge her. "Hm! Yersterday, people only had a glimpse of me. They only saw me barging into the gym!...completely wet...and scruffy...uuugh...and then I lost consciousness in front of them..."

Matthew wanted to cry again.

Not only had she been late at the entrance ceremony, but the first impression she gave of herself was pitiful as well.

The sight of the unused toaster in the kitchen didn't help her psych up either. Rather, it was only remembering her the vivid taste of regret coupled with the sensation of waste.

"At any rate there's gonna be some weird rumor about me going around on the first day." Matthew sobbed. "Like: 'Hey, I've heard Kyrielite-san likes running around and swim into the river in a frenzy until she collapses', or worse 'did you know Kyrielite-san is a delinquent?"!"

No, she definitely couldn't allow this, especially the later! They say it's the first impression that matter! Her life as a highschool girl would not recover from such a blow! She had no choice but to correct this image of her today in front of her other classmates.

Matthew prepared a rich breakfast to give her strength for the trials to come, but her food was mixed with the bittersweet taste of tears and tragedy.

"Anyway, crying won't help out of this, will it?" Matthew sighed and rested her head on the table in front of her. "Well, I guess I'm worrying to much about this. I mean, just because I was covered on bruises and soaking wet, people won't think I'm a delinquent, right?"

Now that she was calming down and thinking a bit more rationaly, Matthew was starting to cheer up a bit. She really wanted to stay holed up in her house with her head on the table, but she had to go out and face the consequences of her own actions. She had worked very hard to be able to register into the famed Seihai High, she couldn't give up because of so little.

"And it's not like it really was my fault. It's all Mordred-san's fault if I had to go through this giant parkour!"

Speaking of Mordred, Matthew didn't know what to think of him. Although they fought side by side to reach the school and defeat the formidable opponent that was the gatekeeper, he still had her swim across a river and do some other very dangerous stuff. And also, he used her as a shield against Sasaki-san.

"In hindsight, I know exactly what to think of him. I don't want to see his face again."

Perfect highschool girl wannabe Matthew sighed again. In any case, it was almost time for her to go to school, or else she would have to run like crazy again.

"My body is too sore for that."

But just as she was cleaning up the table before heading out, Matthew heard the doorbell ring all of sudden.

"Eh? Who could it be at this time?" Matthew stopped in her cleaning and headed toward the intercom, filled with curiosity. "I hope it isn't a dubious salesman trying to sell me some shady product again."

By the time she reached the intercome, the doorbell had rang a second time. Whoever was at the door must have been in a hurry.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming, geez."

But when Matthew looked at the screen on the interphone, she immediatly recognized the person standing on her doorstep. Their voice too, although she had only heard it for a short while, she could never forget.

Sweat beads appeared on Matthew's forehead and ran down her face, making a loud sound like an explosion each time one of them touched the floor.

 _"Mashu-chan! Open uuuuup!"_ The cheerful voice resounded through the mic.

Yes, it was it. The same smiling, carfree face which had told her without hesitation to jump off the running train.

 _"Cooome oooon. Mashu-chaaan."_

Mordred-san was right in front of Matthew's home, calling her name loudly and ringing the door repeatedly like a kid.

*Ding* *Ding* Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* Ding* *Ding* *Ding*

 _"Maaaaashuuuuuu-chaaaaaan. I came to pick ya up!"_

The endless fanfare resounding loudly in her ears and teasing her nerves, Mashu stood motionless in front of the intercom. Her arm was still raised, her finger ready to push the button to open the door.

But she wasn't moving.

She couldn't move.

(I...want to ignore him...Can I ignore him?...I can, right?)

Yes, that was the best option. Just like dealing with a wild beast, the best way was not to react and not to make a single movement until it went away. Mordred would surely eventually get bored of ringing and calling her in vain, and would go to school without her.

*Ding* *Ding* Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* Ding*

(Urgh...Courage, Matthew. This is your first obstacle! You must overcome it splendily!)

Eventually, the noise piercing her ears ceased, and Mordred took the expression of a disappointed kid.

Finally, he would go away.

Or at least that's what Matthew-chan thought.

 _"Hmm, maybe she's just asleep?"_ Mordred's face brightened up. _"Then I'll surprise her by waking her up! I guess I can break through one of the window..."_

"Wait, wait, wait!" Matthew hastily pushed the intercom's button and spoke with a desperate voice. "I'll open the door so please don't break any thing!"

Mordred grabbed a baseball bat which was lying at his feet.

"I said waaaiiiiit!"

* * *

 **Chapter I: Let's Visit Seihai High!**

* * *

In the end, Matthew had no choice but to go to Seihai High with Mordred. She still prefered this than having a broken window and to have Mordred arrested for vandalism.

It wasn't as hard as she had expected, in the end. After she reacted to Mordred's savageness and had blown up her cover, Mordred didn't force her to do anything crazy like they did yersterday. Instead, they calmly walked up to the train station and were now on board in direction of the school, all the while listening to Mordred's energic statements or jokes.

But Matthew was still very uncomfortable about something. Namely the fact that Mordred had come to pick her up. To be sure, she never gave him her adress; in fact, she was pretty sure Mordred's home was on the opposite side of the town, far away from Matthew's. The first word that came to Matthew's mind was 'stalker'.

It didn't help reassure Matthew, and the highschool girl hesitated before asking about it.

"Er, Mordred-san?"

"Mm? What is it, Mashu-chan?"

Mordred was looking at her with a broad smile that didn't ressemble a stalker's. But Matthew had read enough manga to know that they all acted all sweet at first, but then they wander around with an empty gaze and a knife in their hand!

"How comes you came to pick me up this morning?"

"Oh, that? Well, I thought it would be fun to walk to school together. We're friend after all, isn't it?"

Mordred winced at Matthew with his thumb up, but she didn't feel any better. Rather, what disturbed her this time was the word 'friend'. She especially remembered how Mordred crushed her fragile highschool girl heart yersterday by refusing her friendship, but now he was saying they were friends.

"Hmm...friends, right?"

"Yeah! I thought ya were boring at first, but ya were so manly during our fight with old man Kojiro!"

"...ugh...manly, huh?"

That was it. Matthew would definitely strangle him later. Matthew felt the urge to hit Mordred growing inside her, slowly approaching the boiling point.

But she still had things to ask him so she decided to let it slide for now.

"But Mordred-san, how did you know where I live? I don't remember telling you."

"Right, it was bothering that I didn't know where ya lived if I wanted to pick ya up, so I asked the chairman for yer adress."

"Oh, I se- wait! You asked the chairman!"

"Yeah, I did. Why?"

Mordred tilted his head in confusion. Apparently he didn't understand how casually calling your highschool's chairman for someone's adress was a problem.

"But...I mean...wouldn't that annoy the chairman? And shouldn't he refuse to give you information about another student?! Surely he can't be allowed to do that!"

"Nah, he's cool with it." Mordred's expression when he replied probably intended to tell Matthew it was alright.

But Matthew wasn't feeling alright at all. If anything, this revelation gave her contradicting feelings. On the one hand, she was relieved to learn Mordred didn't follow her in secret to know where she lived. On the other hand, she didn't feel secured in the school where the chairman freely gave away information about his students to anybody.

"Speaking of the chairman, I was too late at the e ntrance ceremony to see him. How is he like?"

"Hmm, well in one word, he's a pervert."

"A pervert?!"

Mordred was laughing as if the idea of it was very funny. Matthew on the other hand was wondering how this man managed to keep his job as the chairman of one of the most prestigious schools of the country.

"Yeah, he always talk about romance even though he's an old man! But he's very funny to talk with, and he gives me pocket money!"

"Eh, you sound like you know him well, Mordred-san."

"Of course! My father and the chairman are old friends, so he comes over from time to time. He's like a fun hentai oji-san!"

"Ah, I see. I guess?"

Actually, Matthew felt like she was still stuck at square one. Mordred seemed like the type of person who can easily be friendly with people, but it also looked like he had the mentality of a four-year-old. As such, she didn't know if she could give any credit to his description.

But anyway, Matthew started to feel better around Mordred. She was even able to laugh at some of his jokes

(I guess I really worried for nothing. Mordred-san doesn't seem like a bad person.)

* * *

Because she had been too much in a hurry yertserday, Matthew didn't take a good look at the school.

When she and Mordred arrived at the good station and got off the train, she saw Seihai High in the distance, standing tall and proud. She looked at its white buildings where students will be taking class, the wide courtyard which also served as a gym court, and the alley bordered by cherry blossom and leading toward the main building.

She had a hard time realizing, in her mind, that she would be going there from now one. It wasn't that she was poor, but until now she had only gone to normal schools; nothing that can compare with Seihai High in term of size and reputation. In fact, she still thought she was dreaming and that there was no way it was true.

Yet, with each step she was taking in direction of the school gate, she understood it was really happening, and her feeling of anticipation that she had lost the previous morning returned and fillled her whole body with excitation.

Yes. Right now, she was walking the stairway to the highschool life she had always only dreamed of.

The weather was nice: they were in the middle of spring, so the temperature was neither too cold nor too hot; just perfect. The morning sun was still rising isly in the sky, dying the later with shades of blue and pink. A small breeze was blowing, caressing her skin softly and made her hair flutter aound gently, as though she was flying.

Ah, that was too much.

Matthew's heart was filled with so much happiness that she could have a heart attack any moment now.

"Haha! Why are ya making such a weird face, Mashu?"

Mordred teased her while laughing (or maybe he was seriously asking this question).

All around the two of them, other teenagers wearing the same uniforme as them were also walking in direction of the school, chatting and gossiping between them. Some were gathering between friends from the same middle school while other were saluting people they had met the day before and making new friends. The closer Matthew and Mordred got to the school gate, the more students there were. Matthew was bathing in delight from seeing all these normal teenage boys and girls all discussing happuly like highschool students should. However, she didn't notice some other students glancing at her weirdly.

(Ah, I'm so happy...! I was afraid that maybe everyone here was like Mordred-san, but this place truly is the haven for a highschool girl, right? It is true, isn't it?!)

Yet, when she took her first step into the school of her dreams, Matthew heard a familiar voice calling her.

"Hello there, Mashu-san."

When she heard it, Matthew reacted immediatly by instinct, and spined around in direction of the voice, guarding herself and ready to square off.

Yeah, there was no doubt. This composed and mocking voice could only belong to one person! But this time, Matthew wouldn't let herself be taken by surprise! She will fight back...!

"Gate Keeper of Hell!"

"Oh, it's old man Sasaki. Good morning!"

"Ah, Mordred-kun is there too."

Sasaki Kojiro, a.k.a The Gate Keeper of Hell (so Matthew called him), was waving at them from the gate. Matthew could still feel the beating he gave her and Mordred the day before all over her body. Even after Mordred used her as a human shield, they weren't able to go through Sasaki easily. That was why, Matthew was striking a pose and ready to fight again!

"You won't beat me this time!"

The sudden agitation attracted the rest of the students passing by, and Matthew in particular received incredulous and suspicious gazes.

"Aha! Don't worry, I won't attack you if you're not late."

"R-really?"

Matthew hesitated. For a second she thought it was a ruse to make her lower her guard and she kept the pose.

When she understood the staff member would truly not attack her, Matthew finally relaxed and put both legs on the ground. The students who had gathered around them, seeing that nothing would happen, scattered and resumed their chattering, some with looks of disappointment as if they wanted to see them fight.

(What kind of highschool students would sigh when a fight was avoided! Ah, it can't be...! They were disappointed in me! Of course, they thought I was a turbulent little girl who is unworthy of being a highschool girl!)

Matthew's shoulder dropped and she looked at her feet in despair. During this time, Mordred was chattering with Sasaki-san.

"I want to have another fight with ya! This time I'll beat ya for sure!"

"Ahaha, it'd be my pleasure to whip the floor with you again. I'd like to face Mashu-san another time too. Your fighting spirit yesterday was quite something!"

"I don't want to!" Matthew cried."What's with you all!"

"Come on, Mashu! Let's beat him together!"

"No! I'm sure you're thinking of hiding behind me again! Plus, if classes will start soon, we have to go."

"Hmph, ya killjoy." Mordred pouted, not denying it.

(What do you mean, 'killjoy'?) Matthew clenched her fist so hard a vein popped up. (Shouldn't you be thanking me for sparing you a one-sided beatdown? Or did you lose all your meninges from jumping off trains!)

But she was able to contain her anger and took a deep breath. She let out a huge sigh and headed to the main building.

"I guess Mordred-san is like that."

"Ya said something, Mashu?"

"Nothing!" Matthew denied with a smile and sparkles.

* * *

They were now both heading to their classroom. Matthew was thanksful that Mordred was in the same class as her since she didn't know where the Saber classroom was.

Ah, but maybe she should explain what was the 'Saber class'.

In normal schools, there were usually five classes in each years, from A to E. However, at Seihai High, there were actually seven: Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin and Berserker. Apparently, new students were divided among the different classes depending on their results in the entrance exams as well as psychology test, or at least that's what Matthew read on the school's publicity campaign.

(Do schools usually have publicity campaigns though?)

There was no more information as to how it worked, so Matthew wasn't even sure it was true. She had been surprised though, when she learnt that the entrance exams included a fitness test, but it went without a problem. She may not look like it, but Matthew's specs were quite high. That she was still alive against all odds was the proof of it.

(Still, the psychology test was strange. The first questions were classic but...)

Before even taking the test, all the contestant had to sign a Geis-whats-its-name contract or something, assuring they would tell the truth, all the truth and only the truth. But what made Matthew's senses tingle were the questions. At first, they were normals, like if they would help an old person cross the road, or if they had any hobbies. And then, there were questions like "Do you like mapo tofu?" or "Do you have a life insurance?".

The one that worried Matthew the most was "Have you ever tried or do you wish to attempt to our chairman's life?".

Now that she thought back about it, Matthew was feeling even more uneasy.

"Hey, Mordred-san. Are you sure the chairman's just a pervert?"

But Mordred wasn't listening to her; instead, he was humming excitedly while walking toward a door with "1-Saber" written above it. He walked into the room without an ounce of hesitation, leaving Matthew alone outside.

"I guess no can do. Mordred-san is too excited." Matthew laughed gently like a mother whose child was too excited to sleep. "I wonder why he was still carrying that baseball bat though."

Anyway, she had no time to wonder about that.

Finally, she was there. Behind this door awaited her classmates: proper highschool boys and highschool girls, only waiting for her to step inside.

(Alright!) Matthew prepared mentally and fired up. (I have to show them what kind of girl I am!)

Carefully, Matthew opened the sliding door, and entered the light. Inside, the students were too busy chatting between them to notice her.

(It might be better that way. I'll change their opinion of me when we'll have to present ourselve.)

Matthew looked around the classroom to find an empty seat. She only found one, probably meaning she was the last one arrived. Thus, she had no choice but to go sit at the back corner next to the window.

"Oiiii, Mashu!"

Mordred was waving at her from the seat right in front of hers. They were both sitting next to each other as if it was by fate. In all honesty, Matthew would have prefered a class neighbor who was less...turbulent. But since it couldn't be helped, Matthew reluctantly sat down.

"So? What do ya think of it?" Mordred asked her curiously while rest his head on his arms with a radiating smile.

"Mmh, I'm not sure."

Of course, Matthew's heart was bursting with excitation at the idea of being in her new classroom. But she had to admitt that, at first glance, this classroom looked pretty ordinary. That was probably normal, after all. It wasn't like Seihai High boasted uniqueness (although what she had seen so far was rather unusual).

As she didn't know what to do while waiting for the teacher to arrive, Matthew tried to spark a conversation with one of her other neighbors, a boy sitting to her right. He was a bit taller than her by a paper thin difference. He seemed like a more serious person than Mordred, with short purple hair and an indifferent look.

"G-good morning...!" Matthew was so nervous she stuttered a bit.

The boy seemed to notice her presence and turned his head.

"...Good morning." He replied in a small voice as expressionless as his face.

It wa strange to have someone look at you with this kind of expression; you couldn't guess what they were thinking of you. Was he in a good mood? A bad mood? There was no way to know.

When she heard his voice though, Matthew felt like she had already heard it before, but she also felt it was accompagned with bitter memories so she tried not to remember. But she couldn't stop her memory, and the event of the day before came back to haunt her, even though she was supposed to be so happy. But at the same time, it allowed her to reconize the person she was talking to.

"Ah, you were the students representative! Galahad-san...is it?"

"...Yes. I'm also the student council president. Nice to meet you."

(The student council president!) Matthew flared. (The student council president is sitting next to me! Whta is this kind of development?!)

"...So?"

"Huh?"

"What is it you wanted to tell me?"

Galahad was pretty straightforward; but that was probably a quality for the student council president.

"Ah, err,... ah! It looks like we're gonna be neighbors for a time, so let's get along, Galahad-san!"

"...Okay."

"..."

It was a bit discouraging. It was a wonder how this person was elected with such oral skills. Matthew decided it was better to leave it at that and refocused her attention on her empty desk.

However, this time it was Galahad-san who touched her shoulder to get her attention.

"Ah, I almost forgot but...you're Mashu-san, right?"

"Y-yes." (How comes they all mispronounce my name!)

But Matthew was used to it, so she let it slide.

"...I hope you won't cause any trouble."

"Eh? W-why would I cause any trouble?"

"...?" Galahad tilted his head. "...Well, because of what I heard."

"He? What you heard?"

Galahad nodded.

"...The rumors about you."

"The rumors?!" Matthew jumped on her sit.

So there were rumors after all! Nooooooooo! Matthew had prayed, she had comforted herself, thinking there wouldn't be such a thing, but there were rumors about her! And these rumors were saying she was a trouble person!

"A-ah...aaaaa..." Matthew collapsed tragically on her desk, trembling from the mighty blow her heart received. "G-Galahad-san...these rumors, what are they?"

"Mh?"

Galahad brought his finger to his chin, trying to remember. After a moment that seemed an eternity to Matthew, he finally, the executionner anounced his sentence.

"...Things like 'Kyrielite-san likes running around and swim into the river in a frenzy until she collapses' or 'Kyrielite-san is a delinquent'."

"Why is it exactly how I had imagned it!"

This time, tears of regret came to Matthew in this vulnerable state.

"...Please, don't swim in the river."

"I won't! I never swim into the river! Who spread such slander against me?!"

"..."

Galahad looked at her an instant, and then raised his finger slowly to point at the culprit. It was pointing at the person in front of Matthew.

"Whyyyy, you traitor!" Matthew's hands flew and grabbed Mordred's collar. "How can you pretend to be my friend and do something so atrocious!?"

"Hahahahaha! What did ya do to have such rumors about ya, Mashu-chan?"

"What did YOU make me do!"

But Mordred-san wasn't looking straight at her, instead turning his eyes away in another direction. His face was laughing, but his hadn was squeezing Galahad's finger tightly. A spark of enmity lit when the two boys' gazes met. Even Galahad's expressionless eyes filled with an undescriptable emotion as the two were having a stare fight.

"You reap what you sow, Mordred-kun."

"Dammit...Galahad, I'll get back at ya for that...!"

"Do the two of you know each other?"

Matthew couldn't help but wonder. Her two classmates looked like they wee used to this kind of fighting.

"...Yes. We live under the same roof." It was Galahad who answered her.

"Under the same roof? You two are sinblings?!"

Matthew scrutinized them thoroughly with her eyes squinted, but no matter how much she looked, they didn't look alike.

""No!"" Mordred and Galahad both turned toward her and shouted in unison.

"Eh..."

But something felt off to Matthew.

(They always argue with each other...and then unexpectedly answer in unison...? Wait, that means...!)

Realization dawned upon Matthew as she saw the two boys wrestling despite the distance separating them, and she snapped her fingers.

"You two are actually good friends!"

"...What?"

"What are ya sayin' with that smile?"

The two boys stopped wrestling an instant to give her a confused look. But before they could inquire further about her comment, everyone in the class stopped chatting at once.

"What's going on?"

"...The teacher is here."

Galahad was right. Matthew could here footsteps coming closer to the door; the homeroom teacher would enter any second now. Galahad and Mordred let go of each other's collar and sat up straight...no, actually, only Galahad was sitting normally. Mordred contented to grin evilly while cracking his knucles.

But before Matthew could inquire about the meaning of this, the classroom's door opened all of sudden and the Saber class stepped in. Before, Matthew used to wonder what her teacher would be like. Would they be a mature adult looking after their student? Or rather the cool type of teacher wearing an Hawaiian shirt on their day off? In any case, the teacher was an important part of a true highschool girl's life.

For this reason, she had been excited to meet her teacher. So when the figure crossed the entrance of the holy place of learning, Matthew held her breath.

And then, she choked.

"Please remain silent." The teacher walked up to the desk at the front of the room. "Nice to meet you all. I will be your homeroom teacher for the year to come." Then, the teacher wrote their name on the board. "My name is Artoria Pendragon. Nice to meet you."

(They have the same face!)

Matthew's heart missed a beat! In fact, she's pretty sure it actually stopped for a moment!

The teacher was man...woman...hell, she wasn't even sure! They were wearing a suit so they had to be a man. Alright, so a man of small stature, wearing a suit and holding some papers under his arm. So far, nothing anormal. The problem was his face: gracious features, short golden hair and an ahoge...exactly the same as Mordred!

It wasn't just that they face looked alike; they were the exact same! They were the exact same size too! It was a Mordred number 2! When Matthew realized this, she felt her consciousness wavering and a bit of foam forming at the corning of her mouth.

(Kami-sama please noooooo! They're multiplying! They're duplicating! I can't take another Mordred-saaaaaaan!)

She had no choice but to support herself with her arms not to fall off the tables, and she breathed heavily. Doing this attracted a few curious gazes from her other classmates. For a second, Matthew was afraid she might reinforce the rumors running around about her even more, and she tried her best to look normal, with little success.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), what happened next grabbed everyone's attention without a fault.

Just when the teacher was putting down the papers he was holding on the table and that Matthew-chan was sitting on her chair as if someone was recording her, a loud cry resounded inside the classroom, like thunder disrupting a peaceful day.

"OooootooouUU-SAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The cry had come from right in front of Matthew, and the sudden noise made her heart stop a second time. The origin of the noise, Mordred, had abruptly stood up at the exact same moment he had started to shout. In the split of a second, he had started to run in direction of the teacher, holding his baseball bat firmly with both hands. However, there was a certain distance to close betwen the two of them. Mordred put his weight one one leg and jumped on a random classmate's desk, before jumping a second time across the classroom. The strength of the jumped flipped the desk which fell heavily on the floor witha loud noise, but everyone was too mesmerized by the unrealistic event to care. Mordred took support ona second desk, this time to gain momentum. The owner of the table had a second to lean their head out of the way.

Finally, with a great jump worthy of the olympics, Mordred-san pounded on Arotoria-sensei with his baseball bat ready to strike. But when the dangerous instrument was less than a meter away from the teacher's head, the latter graciously evaded the strike as though they had expected it.

Artoria-sensei held out his hand tomard the desk with a piercing gaze, and grabbed a strangely long ruler laying there. It wasn't a ruler made of plastic, but of hard wood! On his part, Mordred landed skillfully on the ground, but his balance was swaying because he had used to much momentum, and he couldn't react immediatly. Artoria-sensei took this opportunity to send a powerful strike on Mordred's leg, consequently sweeping him off the ground!

Yet, Mordred was completely unfazed by being thrown off. At the moment his body entered in contact with the floor again, he kicked off the ground to spin on himself while also standing back up. Doing so not only allowed him to retaliate immediatly, but it also gave enough speed to his bat to make a powerful attack!

However, this too was useless.

Artoria-sensei saw he attack coming and, with a superb movement like a professional swordman, he blocked Mordred's arm that was holding the bat with the wooden ruler. The sudden impact on his wrist combined with his own arm's speed made Mordred let go of his weapon, successfully disarming him.

However, doing this didn't stop the baseball bat which soared through the classroom like a black lightning bolt. Then, it effectively collided with Galahad's head with all its speed and power, sending him flying off his chair.

Assisting to this tragic collateral damage finally allowed Matthew to come out of her torpor.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Galahad-san, are you okay?!"

"...I'm fine." Galahad's expression remained unchanged.

"You're clearly not fine! There's blood coming out of your forehead!"

But the fight between Mordred-san and Artoria-sensei wasn't done yet. Mordred was now empty-handed and facing the redoutable wooden ruler alone. The outcome was unavoidable: with a single precise and powerful movement, Artoria-sensei landed a superb blow on Mordred's forehead. The delinquent student flew back, bouncing and rolling over several table before stopping, half-slumped over Matthew's desk...with his eyes rolled backward.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Seriously." Artoria-sensei put aside the wooden ruler and rubbed his forehead with a frustrated sigh. "Have some restrain! You're already making trouble on the first day."

"S-sensei, I don't think he can hear you."

"Hm?"

Artoria-sensei looked at Matthew as if he just now noticed her presence, even though it was her desk Mordred was sprawled over. Then, he seemed to reconize her and opened his mouth.

"That's right, Kyrielite-san. I heard you weren't there for the visit of the school yersterday."

(I-is it common knowledge by now...?)

"Hmm, that could be a problem." The teacher held his chin in his hand. "I wouldn't want you to get lost and die by accident."

(Wait, why is death the first thing that come to your mind?)

"You!" Artoria-sensei pointed at Mordred who was still lying unconscious. "I should put you in the hallway for troubling classes, but since you are here, why not make Kyrielite-san visit our school?"

"Understood, otousama!"

"Don't call me otousama; call me sensei!"

As though these words had filled him with energy, Mordred's eyes came back to normal and he immediatly stood up to salute.

"Come on Mashu! Let's visit~!"

"Wait, don't grab me like that!"

Mordred cheerfuly grabbed Matthew's wrist and dragged her toward the door. Artoria-sensei also allowed Galahad to go to the infirmary. Thus, the three of them were now standing outside the classroom: one with his forehead bleeding, one with a big red mark on his head, and one who already had two heart attacks in the span of one minute.

Now, that they were alone in the corridor, Matthew could finally ask:

"What the hell, Mordred-san!?"

"Mm? What are ya talking about?"

"Why did you suddenly attack the teacher! Do you crave battle that much?! You'll seriously get fired if you do that again."

"Oh, that. Don't worry, it happens all the time!"

"What do you mean, all the time?!"

"...At least keep this out of the classroom, Mordred-kun."

"Mind yer business!" Mordred stuck out his tongue at Galahad and pushed Matthew in the opposite direction.

"Ah, Galahad-san, you should hurry to the infirmary and have your wound checked as fast as possible!"

"...No, I'm fine."

"You're not fine! Your head is still bleeding!"

"...I know but I'd rather not have the nurse check it; she might make it worse."

"Wa, what kind of nurse makes injuries worse...?"

"So instead I'll just try to sneak up and still some bandages...Have fun you two."

And with that, Galahad put a safety helmet on and walked in another direction with a serious expression. This only made Matthew worry more as she followed Mordred in the hallways of the highschool.

"Say, Mordred-san, is this nurse really bad?"

"Nyu? Well, I heard she's good."

"Then why-"

"In fact, she's the one who took care of ya after yersterday. I heard it took several person to prevent her from amputating yer leg."

"..." Matthew spinned around dramatically. "GALAHAD-SAN!"

* * *

"So Artoria-sensei is your father? Not your clone?!"

"Yeah! Everyone keep saying we look a lot alike." Mordred laughed heartily, but Matthew wasn't really amused.

"No, this can't be...! Forget looking alike, they have the same face! I'm sure he's his clone -no worse, Mordred-san is the clone! An homonculus or something created from Artoria-sensei's DNA, there's no other explanation!"

"Mh? What are you muttering, Mashu-chan?"

Leaving the matter of Galahad aside, Mordred was now showing Matthew the way around school. Given the size of their school ground, it would probably take a while to see everything. Thus, Matthew had expected Mordred to limit their visit to the main building. Yet, her classmate seemed determined to show her the entirety of the school right now. By now, they had left the main building (where there were apparently only the Saber class classrooms and some clubrooms) and were walking down the schoolyard.

"Over there, there is the cafeteria! And over there, it's the shooting range!"

Mordred was full of energy as usual. Mh? Strangely, Matthew could already use the expression 'as usual' to talk about Mordred.

(Ugh, I guess I've been around him for too long...)

But it was true that Mordred was the only person in school that she knew.

(Ah, but there is Galahad-san too.)

Matthew remembered her short encounter with the student council president this morning. There was at least one nice person here! Matthew elt like whaling again.

"And here is the Berserker class building! Hey, Mashu, yer listening?"

"Ah! Erm, yes yes!"

Mordred-san was now leading her toward another building quite similar to the one they had left. The only difference was that it was more...clean? Normally, even the most well-maintained schools would have some mold in the corners, or at least some grafitis on the walls somewhere. Yet, all Matthew could think when she looked at what was apparently the Berserker class building was that it was reflecting the sunlight way too well.

"Mordred-san, why are the different classes split in different buildings? Wouldn't it make more sense to put them all in the same building to save space?"

"I dunno. I only know the Saber class is located near the chairman's office for trust issues, but I'm not too sure about the others."

(Again with that mysterious chairman! I wonder what he looks like...)

"By the way, Mordred-san-"

"Ya can just call me Mordred, ya know Mashu-chan. After all, you're my buddy!" Mordred declared cheerfully while passing his arm around Matthew's shoulders.

"Ugh, I would feel a part of me dying if I did this...Anyway, Mordred-san, how comes you know the school so well?"

"Uh? What do ya mean? Isn't it normal to know your own school?"

"But you were too late for the tour yersterday as well, right? Yet you seem to know the place all too well. Artoria-sensei seemed to know about it too!"

"Well, you know how I alway dreamed of join Seihai High, right?"

"No, this is the first time I hear about i-"

"So I used to come here often to see for myself, so I know my way around here like nowhere else!"

"Oh, I see. Hihi, you were so excited and impatient you came here to visit many times, right?"

Matthew chuckled gently while in her mind she could see a young Mordred-san jumping off a train and coming to Seihai High under the excuse of visiting his father. Mordred may have the behavior of some manga character (in a bad way), but she found touching how some people kept a childmind and a certain innocence in spite of life's harshn-

"Nah, I snuck inside."

"...I beg your pardon?"

"It is forbidden for non-students to enter the school, and the old man just wouldn't give me a map." The boy complained. "I tried to enter at night, but the security is just too damn tight. But there's a guy here who can smuggle you in if you bribe him with mapo tofu!"

"..."

Why? Why was it that Matthew wasn't even surprised anymore? For some reason, rather than tsukkomi like she always did, Matthew decided to rub her temples in a vain attempt to forget about what she just heard. Anyway, this explained that, end of the story. Whatever this smuggling story was, it was probably illegal so she should just forget about it.

At any rate, Matthew followed Mordred inside the Berserker class building.

* * *

 **Berserker class**

* * *

"...Clean like a baby bottom."

The interior gave exactly the same feeling than the exterior; everything was so clean the hallway was litterally sparkling. All the windows were opened, letting a cool breeze bath the hallway in a fresh scent. In fact, the fresh scent was due to some oranges and lemons being disposed near the windows. It was as if Matthew and Mordred were dirtying this place just by walkng in it.

"I can even see my reflection on the floor. That's crazy!"

As they progressed through the building, Matthew could see that it was the same for all the rooms: perectly cleaned and aerated. The equipment as well had been thoroughly washed and disposed in order.

"Is it the Berserker class who did this marvel?!"

"Mmh, no; that would be the janitor."

"The janitor? What kind of superhuman are they?!"

"He, I see you know what yer talking about." Mordred's gaze sharpened. "He truly is a superhuman! He is one of the strongest person in Seihai High! Some say he is even capable of cleaning a whole classroom under a minute! And that his cooking is on par with the gods'!"

"Whoaaa! He truly is the strongest!"

Actually, those sounded more like a housewife's qualities than a janitor's, but it was still completely awesome nonetheless. As someone who takes care of her house by herself, Matthew couldn't help but respect and admire this unknown janitor. She stood straight and saluted toward the lemon half sitting by the window!

"Whoever you are, thank you! You truly are this school's hero!"

"Haiiiiii!" Mordred saluted with Matthew.

But they shouldn't let this timely view make them forget about the visit, and Matthew quickly resumed walking down the hallway. In fact, she felt so light and alive to breath all this freshness time she was skipping like a bunny, even though it's forbidden to run in the hallways.

"Quick, Mordred-san! Let's continue the vis-Omphf!"

But upon cheerfully turn around the corner, Matthew's face met with something hard like a wall and her butt landed painfully on the impeccable floor with a soft sound.

"O-ow...What is-..."

Matthew looked up while rubbing her nose to see what she had rammed into. At first sight, it was a wall. A big black wall blocking the way. Matthew had had the impression she had ran into a wall, so it had to be a wall. But then, the wall bent over to look at her. It was at this point in time that Matthew's alarm rang like never when she realized the wall was actually a 250 cm tall monster with vaguely humanoid form, ripped body, lead-colored skin and long completely wild hair. One of its eye was red whereas the other was yellow, and when he opened his mouth, Matthew could see he had sharp, pointy teeth like a shark.

The black giant was towering Matthew, his head litterally reaching the ceiling, and he said:

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! _(My bad, are you hurt anywhere?)_ "

"...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Matthew's reason completely abandoned her, leaving place to her survival instinct. This unwordly roar was the signal that she had to run away as fast as possible. Thus, she spinned around and flew. When he saw this, the black giant started to pursue her.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! _(Young girl, I must insist! Did you hit your head?)_ "

"Noooooo! Don't come near meeeeee!"

Despite his gigantic size, the black giant was faster than Matthew and was visibly closing the gap between them. He reached out for her shoulder with his absurdly big black hand that looked like it would crush her like paper. But she wouldn't go down like this!

After taking a firm step, Matthew jumped to gain momentum and made a beautiful roll. Within this sparkling haven, it felt as though she was a gymnast performing in front of the projectors. Yet, something went wrong when she tried to get back up: there was actually a spot in the hallway that was still not completely dry, and Matthew made the mistake to step on it while trying to regain her balance. As a result, the gymnast became a puck and started a formidable slide along the hallway.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!"

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! _(A-are you alright?!)_ "

This mistake actually played in Matthew's favor since it allowed her to widen the distance between her and the rampaging monster in an instant. The little problem however...

"Hey, Mashu-chan. Ya could have waite-"

...Was that she was charging at full speed in direction of Mordred!

Unfortunately, there was no stopping destiny. Matthew had become an unstoppable train choo-choo-ing toward her and Mordred's doom. And Mordred, who still hadn't realized what was about to happen, could only give her a confused smile before the imminent impact.

And then, it happened: _CRASH!_

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! _(A-are you alright, you two?!)_ "

The shock was mighty, and Matthew and Mordred ended up lying together on the shiny ground on top of each other. Matthew was still conscious, but Mordred looked like he had been knocked out by the unexpected impact. She knew she had to run away from the black giant, but Matthew was stuck under Mordred!

"Hnng...why is he so heavy...?!"

Mordred was, against all expectations, much heavier than he looked, and Matthew didn't manage to get his off her in time. A second later, the black giant was standing right next to them, litterally looking down on them from his two-and-a-half meters. At this point, Matthew had already given up on all hope and was just praying that her death may be quick and painless, and that someone sent the superjanitor to take her of her house once she's in heaven.

However, just as the monster was about to grab her and Mordred, the latter woke up and stood up with a _*pop*_ and spoke to the giant in his usual friendly and energic voice.

"Oh, Herakles-sensei! Ohayou!"

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! _(My, if it isn't Mordred-kun! Fancy meeting you here. Shouldn't you be in your classroom?)_ "

"Ah, allow me to present ya Matthew!" Mordred was lifting the poor Matthew who was still shaking in her boots and holding her in front of him. "I'm showing her the school!"

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! _(Oh my, I guess Mordred-kun is at this age now. Quite the pretty girlfriend you have here!)_ "

"It's not like that! She's my bro! My bro!"

Matthew couldn't understand anything, whether it was the black giant's roars or the reason why Mordred was ranting while patting her shoulder. Yet, for some reason, she felt deeply insulted.

After her shaking and her quaking was gone, Matthew finally dared to open her mouth:

"Uhm...he is a...teacher?"

Itw as true that, after taking a better look, Matthew could see the man called Herakles-sensei was wearing a teacher uniform over his already black body; but although it was a bigger version, it still looked several sized too small for him, and his rippling muscle were perfectly visible from underneath the clothed.

She decided to stand up poperly, ashamed to have ran away from a teacher, and decided to present her herself.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Matthew Kyrielite. And as you can see I've been entangled with this animal." She bowed.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! _(Hahaha! Nice to meet you, Kyrielite-san. Watashi wa Herkles, Berserker class' homeroom teacher. Well, I'm sure a fair and energic young girl like will have no problem dealing with Mordred-kun, even though he is somewhat unruly.)_ "

"Erm...what did he say?" Matthew turned to Mordred, unsure of how she should translate Herakles-sensei's reply.

Mordred raised his thumb proudly and answered confidently:

"He's saying you're manly!"

(Not...not him too...) She felt devastated.

Then, as if he was suddenly remembering something, Herakles-sensei looked at his anormaly large watch in a hurry.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! _(Now, I am afraid I have to hurry. I am late because of an incident with the P.E teacher earlier. Enkidu-san will probably be late too...)_ "

Herakles-sensei signed them to make some room in order for him to pass between them, and walked up to a door above which a sign was saying "1-Berserker". The giant of a man bow apologetically to them a last time, and bent forward to finally step into the classroom. His 'voice' could the be heard from beyond the sliding door even though the latter was now shut.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! _(I am_ _deply_ _sorry for my lateness, everyone! Allow me to present myself, my name is-)_ "

"Hey, wanna take a look?"

Mordred passed his arm around Matthew's shoulders in a 'best friend' fashion (much to her discomfort) and pointed toward the classroom door with a smile.

Matthew hesitated. It was bad to peek at other people, she knew it. But could it be considering peeking if it is a classroom? And for some reason, she wanted to see what the Berserker class was like. Thus, after a vain debate with herself, Mordred and Matthew were taking a look at 1-Berserker, barely poking out their head and stacked unrealistically one above the other.

What then offered itself to Matthew was a strange sight: the room itself was completely normal for a classroom, but Herakles-sensei's gigantic stature sitting in a desk which clearly wasn't meant for him was comically disturbing. Matthew then took a look at the students. There was something teribly wrong with the latters, as if some of them were unexplicable angry. But more unusual was their appearance which ranged from a fairly normal girl with light blue hair waving a fan, to a boy even taller than Herakles-sensei (if that was possible) and who had two large black horn coming out of a forest of white hair.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! _(Now that the presentation are made; class representative, if you may.)_ "

At his call(roar), one of the girl sitting at the second row stood up. She was a bit taller than Matthew, with her dark bangs hiding her eyes and some sort of large audio headset. The most striking was the strange kind of unicorn horn on her forehead; yet, nobody seemed surprised in the least by this display of bizzare -nobody except Matthew of course.

The pink-haired girl -the class representative opened her mouth to talk:

"Uuuuuaaaaaa...Uoooooooh! _(All rise! Bow!)_ "

And the students all rised at the same time – but suddenly the aformentioned boy with horn stood up too fast and his horns got stuck in the ceiling

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! _(Asterios-kun, be more careful...!)_ "

"Aaah...So...aa..rry _(Gomen!_ )"

The unfortunate student tried his best to take his large horns out of the ceiling, but in doing so he only managed to get even more stuck, and he started to panick.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! _(Lu Bu-san, try to help him!)_ "

"GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! _(Y-yes!)_ "

"Uuooooooo...ooooooooooh! _(Wait, if you keep sh_ _a_ _king th_ _at_ _way the light is gonna-Wah!)_

 _Crash!_ The light located right next to Asterios' horns fell heavily to the floor with the noise of glass breaking.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Aaah...aaah!"

"GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuh! Uuu..."

"Hahaha! That Asterios guy is such a klutz-Wait, Mashu, where are you going?"

"..."

Matthew turned her attention away from the classroom, walked a little, and eventually put her head against the wall:

(...Why can't they all just talk normally?!)

* * *

 **Archer class**

* * *

"Ugh...My ears are ringing now."

It was thus with a splitting headache that Matthew left the Berserker class building. Aside from the classrooms used for teaching, the rest was essentially meant for club activities so there was not much too visit. There was also some kind of large metal door in the basement (because yes, there was a basement), that was too heavy for a human being to open.

At any rate, it was surely nothing important.

The whole visit had been accompagned by the roars coming from the Berserker classes, hence Matthew's headache.

"Can you rally understand what they say, Mordred-san?" She asked her classmate as they left through the entrance.

"Why, ya can't?"

"...You're kidding, right? How am I supposed to understand anything if all they do is shouting?!"

"What are ya talking about? These guys are so well-spoken it gives me goosebumbs."

"Well...well-spoken..."

What? Wasn't there something wrong with that situation? What did he meant, 'well-spoken'? Was Matthew the only one who heard them that way? Was there something wrong with her head?!

(No-no-no that's not possible! I'm sure it's actually a language only idiots can understand! That must be it!)

"Here we are!"

"Huh? Where are we?"

Leaving the matter aside, Mordred had brought Matthew in front of another building, this one longer in length compared to the precedent. Just like for the Berserker class building, the place seemed unbelievably clean, showing the mark of the super janitor.

"This is the Archer class building! This is also where the archery club rooms are located since pretty much all of its members are from this class."

"Oh, I see. The archery club's members are from the...Archer...class. Wait a minute..."

It was a truly suspicious coincidence -scratch that, is was obvious someone had fun naming the classes.

"Does that mean all classes have a favorite club? Let's see, for the Saber class...that would be kendo, right?"

"Hm? Ah, now that ya mention it, it's true the kendo club's members are usually from our class. Otousama is even the supervision teacher for the Kendo dojo."

"Does that mean I'll have to join the kendo club too?" Matthew groaned. "But I'm not that good with sport. And it'll bring me nightmares after yersterday's events..."

"Na, don't worry! Yer not even forced to join a club to start with so it's alright. Anyway, let's go in!"

Mordred hummed cheerfully and entered the Archer class building at once; yet, Matthew didn't enter immediatly after him.

She hesitated.

There was a little voice in her head that was telling her not to take a single step inside. Said little voice was of course her recent experience as well as the voice of her tired feet. Not only that, she was worried at the idea of visiting the building.

(Hn, do they also talk like the Berserkers did? Ah, I don't want to think about it. Do I really have to go in? I have a bad feeling about this...)

Such thoughts crossed her mind repetedly. But she decided to cheer up -she slapped her own face as forcefully as she could, and readided herself to face this new challenge head on. She had to admit that the face of Mordred peeking from inside with a creepy expression saying "Won't you come iiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnn..." was a huge motivator.

(Alright, Atthew, it's no time to be discouraged! You decided -no, it was always decided, taht you would become a highschool girl today! A true highschool girl don't whine because her feet or her ears hurt!"

"Onwaaaaard!"

Matthew triumphically stepped through the door as if the spirit of some hero of the past had taken possession of her, and she advanced toward her target.

"Ah, Mashu-chan, ya finally- Mashu-chan?"

But Matthew's mind was too focused to hear Mordred's insistant calls. Or maybe she just wanted to get this over with. At any rate, she walked up to Mordred, and bypassed him to head ineluctably toward the nearest door of the building. She didn't even bother to knock or to check the sign above the door before opening the latter with a thundering sound.

"Alright, what's in theeeeeeeeeeeeereeeee-...eh?"

The room was empty.

There was no desk, no chair and nobody as far as she could see. And it didn't look like anything had been moved recently. In other words, this room was supposed to be empty. A bit of shame struck Matthew at the result of her determination, and she decided to leave the room to meet with Mordred who hadn't entered the empty room.

There was still a lot to visit and she didn't have the time to fool around.

"Ugh, this so embarrassing. Though, what is the purpose of having a room li-"

'What si the purpose of having a room like this empty?' was what Matthew was about to say, but she trailed off before she could finish her sentence.

It was when she turned her head around to look at the sign above the door in order to know what this room was for. She had expected to see something like 'reserve' or 'spare room'; that would have explained why there was nothing inside.

But no.

What Matthew saw when she looked up was an unexplicable:

 _"1-Archer"_

"What? What si that supposed to mean?"

"What's wrong, Mashu-chan?"

"Mordred-san, did they forget to remove the old sign for thsi door?"

That would be an explanation...

"Na, all the equipment in the school is brand-spanking-new."

...which was crushed immediatly by Mordred.

"But why is it called '1-Archer' if there's nothing inside?"

"Nothing? What are ya saying? There's-"

"No!" Matthew blocked Mordred's mouth with her two hands be fore the latter could finish his sentence. "I don't want to know. I don't want to know if there's something else that only I can't see." Finally, she removed her hand and walked away from the _empty_ room with ehr back bent. "Let's just finish the visit, shall we?"

"Hahaha, why are ya acting strange, Mashu-chan? Oh, is it that ya can't wait to have a rematch with old man Sasaki?!"

"It has nothing to do with that. And what do you mean, 'reamtch'? Don't tell me you went and organized something like without my consent!"

"Teehee~."

"I'll beat to a pulp before he does..."

* * *

"Oi, Robin-kun."

"What is it, Arash-kun?"

Robin Hood was sitting on his chair and squinting his eyes as hard as he could when his class neighboor Arash, a tall guy with black hair and tanned skin, asked him a question.

"Didn't someone just enter the classroom?"

"How would I know?! I'm too focused on trying to see what the teacher is doing to notice something like that!"

"Arash-kun! Robin! Stop disturbing the class!" The teacher's deep voice rose from his desk.

"Tsk! How can he even hear us from where he is!" Robin had to mutter not to be heard.

Now, to explain why Robin-kun is in such a bad mood, we'll have to explain how the Archer clas works: at the front, right before the blackboard, there was the teacher's desk. Neatly arranged by rows of nine desks were the students, all facing toward Tesla-sensei.

The two were separated by a distance of roughly 500m from the back of the room to the front. Somewhere on the middle, there was the door. It was made so because the Archer class was supposed to have the best eyes out of all the other classes.

"Hmm, but I'm pretty someone just now opened the door. Some cute girl with silver hair."

"Damn you and your Clairvoyance skill! I can't even see the door from this distance, and yet you can look at pretty girl without being seen!"

" _Lightning!_ "

 _BZAAAAP_

Tesla-sensei raised his right hand toward the unfortunate Robin-kun and a bolt of lightning shot toward the latter.

"Wha!"

Poor Robin-kun only had the time to press his head on his desk to dodge the lightning which passed over him (not without burning a handful of his hair) and struck the person behind him.

"D-David-kun is out cold!"

"Someone bring him to the infirmary!"

"Are you crazy? It will only finish him!"

"Huh?" Arash's brow furrowed. "That's bad."

"What is?! If you can see then tell me what Tesla-sensei is doing!"

"Erm, he is installing some kind of machine..."

"What?"

"Now, everyone listen for the first lesson!" Tesla-sensei reached out for a lever beside him. "Can anyone tell me what that is?"

"T-Tesla-sensei, David-kun needs some urgent treatment!"

"I can't hear his breathing!"

Yet, although he had no problem hearing Arash and Robin chatting a minute ago, Tesla-sensei acted as if he couldn't hear them. Instead, he sighed as though they were helpless and pulled the lever.

"It's called a 'magnifying transmitter'."

 _BZAAAAP BZAAP BZAAAAP_

As soon as he pulled down the lever, arcs of lightning came out of the 'magnifying transmitter' and shot in every direction. Apparently, there was another one of these big coil behind the students desk. As a result, the electric arc also passed in between the rows of desk.

 _BZAAAAAAAAP_

"What the-Ha!"

Robin had no choice but to jump off his desk to avoid being reduced to ashes. All the other students thought the same and helplessly pressed their body against the floor because they didn't want to have to go to the infirmary.

"Gh...! This is too dangerous to be called a class!" Arash claimed with a determined look and stood up from the ground. "I have to stop hi-" _BZAAAAAAP_

"Arash-kun!"

Robin rushed toward Arash just in time to catch his falling body.

But it was no use.

"Arash-kun! Oi, Arash-kun! Hang in there!"

"Gh...ah, is that you, Robin-kun? Haha, I'm not very presentable right now."

"You only have fried hair! Just hang in there, I'll take you to the hospital!"

"Heh...Who would have thought...it would feel so good...to die in the arms of a friend..."

"What are you saying! We barely know each other, you can't die yet!"

"Robin-kun..."

Despite his critical condition, Arash put what little energy he had left to raise his hand weakly, and put it on Robin's shoulder.

"I leave the rest to you. You must...ugh!...stop...himmm..."

"Arash-kuuuuuuuuunnnnnn!"

* * *

"Hm?"

Matthew turned her head around.

"Wasn't there like a great cry of despair right now?"

"Whatever are ya talking about?"

* * *

 **Rider class**

* * *

Next, Mordred led Matthew out of the Archer building and then in direction of the buildings closer to the schoolgate.

"That's the Rider class building!"

Looking in the direction his finger was pointing at, Matthew saw a building that was different from those she had seen so far. The latters had looked like regular school buildings, yet this one was smaller and similar in form to some kind of apartment complexe: the classsrooms were accessible from outside like on a balcony. There was only a ground floor and one upper floor, the latter of course bordered by a handrail.

Anyway, just like the rest it looked like a normal building; there was one difference though: the place wasn't as clean as the Berserker and Archer building. It probably had to do with the fact the Rider building was so close to the entrance -at any rate, the super janitor hadn't passed by there yet.

"Why is this building smaller than the rest?"

"There isn't any clubroom here, that's why! There are only classrooms and some storage rooms for P.E equipment and stuff like that."

"I see."

It didn't explain why it was so different from the other buildings, but there was probably another screwed up reason behind it so Matthew didn't ask.

"Then I guess it's time."

Anyway, without losing a minute, Matthew took a step toward the Rider class building.

"Hey, Mashu-chan, what do ya look so serious all of sudden?"

Matthew took another step.

And then another.

One step after another, she solmnely walked toward the stairway leading to the first floor. Once she was at the bottom of the stairs, she stood in front of them for a second, as if beholding them.

She took a deep breath.

"Alright, I'm sure everything's going to be okay."

And with that, she resumed her slow and careful walk up the staircase. Eventually, she reached the first floor -immediatly, she crouched on the floor!

Her head swiftly spinned right and left, checking in all directions to spot anything out of the ordinary. Matthew held her breath, ready to jump like a panther if she sensed danger...!

But there was nothing in view.

"..."

Still on her guard, Matthew carefully stood up. Then, once she had made definitely sure everything was normal. She finally relaxed and sighed with relief.

(No! I can't lower my guard now. Thinking back on it, everything was fine on the outside for the previous buldings!)

"M-Machu-chan? Are you alright?" Mordred was looking at her with a worried look from the bottom of the stairs.

But Matthew spinned around to face him and urgently put a finger on her lips, telling him not to make any noise! Mordred still didn't seem to understand what was going on, but he obeyed nonetheless, putting both his hands on his mouth to keep it shut.

Matthew turned into infiltration mode and approached one of the windows stealthily. This window was giving on the interior of a classroom. The sign above the door was saying:

 _"1-Rider"_

Matthew hesitated a bit before looking inside. Would she really be ready to accept whatever was waiting inside for her?

"..."

No.

It wasn't a question of whether she was ready or not. She _had_ to be ready. She had come such a long way: her efforts to join the famous Seihai Highschool! Her ordeal during the day of the entrance ceremony! All the weirdness she beholded within the last hour! Mordred-san!

After all the tests she had gone through to come this far, there was no way she couldn't be ready...!

"Alright. Here I go!"

Matthew closed her eyes, and then she abruptly stood up to face the window. Then, y, she opened her eyelid and light filled her eyes.

And then, she saw...

"Ah..."

Inside the classroom, all the desks were arranged neatly like they normally should. All the furniture was there without exception. The students as well were all here, looking normal and chatting between them. It seemed the teacher hadn't arrived yet.

After thoroughly observing the classroom two or three times, Matthew was positive that there was no such thing as students or furniture that only idiots could see. The next step was to listen closely to what the students were saying.

The closest to Matthew's position was a girly-looking student with braided pink hair wearing a boy uniform who was speaking to a cool-looking student with green hair.

"Man, I wonder why the homeroom teacher isn't here yet."

"Who knows. Maybe we should send soemone to check if he is alright. Ah, but we haven't even decided on a class representative yet."

(Yosh!)

Matthew clenched her fist in sign of success. From the short exchange she just heard, the students of this class were speaking like proper humans, and not yelling unintelligibly.

They were even worrying about their teacher being late, like true highschool students!

"Yes, it has to be it..."

Matthew understood what this meant: this classroom was... _normal_.

"Mordred-san! There really is a normal-...ah...aaaaaaaah..."

But when she spinned around with her heart swollen with happiness and was about to walk away from the window, Matthew noticed something that hadn't been here before.

Right in front of her, beyond the stairway she had taken to go up here, a massive brown and white creature with the upper body of an eagle and the lower body of a horse was smoothing its feathers with its beck like a normal eagle.

It was a hypogriff.

"Ah...ah..." Matthew was speechless.

The creature was just standing there quietly and ignoring her. Matthew was just standing there quietly and couldn't possibly ignore wa she was seeing.

She was frozen in place.

(Wh...what is this? That can't be true, right? Of course it can't!)

"Ahahahaha!"

Matthew laughed heartily as she realized it was her tired brain that was making her see things that didn't exist. Yet, for some reason, there was something extremely sadin her laugh.

The hypogriff noticed her laughing and stopped its activity to look at her.

 _Neigh!_

(Ahahaha! Of course eagles don't neigh! And how could it have suddenly appeared here without making any noise? Of course it can't)

"This is just the result of my tired mind! Ahahahaha!"

Matthew decided this was the explanation, and she started to walk toward the stairs that were between her and the mirage. But she could barely take a few steps that the hypogriff began to move in her direction direction as well. When it did, Matthew could feel the ground shaking a little.

Matthew stopped.

The hypogriff stopped at the same time.

"..."

"..."

Both of them didn't say make a noise. They were just facing each other like two cowboys before a gun duel. Matthew's eyes met with the hypogriff's. The latter looked deep inside her with a piercing gaze. The message was clear: it wouldn't let her get away.

But Matthew didn't falter; she stared back into the creature's eyes without an ounce of hesitation. She wasn't even trying to deny its existence anymore. She completely focused on not losing any ground in this battle of intimidation which would decide who was the boss between the poor highschool girl and the wild monster.

It was hard; it felt like she was staring into the abyss, and the abyss were staring back. Matthew felt beads of sweet forming on her forehead and rolling slowly down her face. The tickling sensation was very uncomfortable, but Matthew beared with it. She couldn't possibly show her opponents she was having trouble. The hypogriff too was sweating a lot.

The beads of sweats produced by the two of them were falling heavily on the ground. Why was it that they were making such a loud noise each time one of them touched the floor?

Matthew didn't know how long it had been since they started this deadly staring contest that was taking such a toll on them; the only reason she could feel time passing was because of the sound of their sweet falling down -and even this sound was starting to disappear from their mind.

They couldn't keep this on eternaly -they knew it all too well. But neither of the two courageous contestant was ready to step back.

Both of them were only a few meters away from the stairs. There was no way one of them would retreat now, not after going so far. Matthew didn't know what the hypogriff wanted -did it want to go down the stairs as well? Or was it that it wanted to eat her while she had her back turned? Either way, Matthew couldn't allow it.

But if this fight extended any longer, she would probably be the one to lose.

(I can't possibly allow myself to lose here! I have no choice...I'll have to end this now!)

Matthew took a deep breath without taking her eyes off her opponent's. Then, when she felt her body was ready-

"Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

She suddenly raised her two arms in a menacing way, as well as her right knee! She was standing on one leg, taking what almost looked like a kung-fu stance. Her gaze wa still locked on the hypogriff, unwavering. The aim of such a move was obvious: she had to show the creature that she was the most dangerous of the two.

At first, the hypogriff was stunned by her sudden attack, but soon enough it brought itself back together and took up the challenge. With a mighty neigh, it stood up on its horse leg, its gigantic shadow hiding the sun and covering Matthew like the shadow of a moutain.

This way, their timeless fight resumed. Except that now, the condition were even worse: Matthew only had one leg to support herself, and horse legs weren't the best to support this massive body. Nonetheless, neither of them moved an inch and they kept their intimidating pose.

Their sweat was running down their body even more than before.

The shadow from the hypogriff immense body was giving Matthew the impression she was staring down a wall. But she couldn't give up. She couldn't give up!

(He is...such a strong opponent...!)

Her body was trembling like crazing, but even so she braced herself to keep the stance. Her strength was fading away little by little, but Matthew wasn't desperate: that's because she knew her opponent was in the same position.

Seconds flew by. Minutes flew by. Or was it hours?

Matthew didn't know.

Eventually, when their respective body were at their limit and that they were both gritting their teeth (or their beck), the situation was becoming utterly unbearable.

"Huff...huff..."

"Neigh...neigh..."

They were breathing heavily...

But Matthew couldn't take it anymore...! All of sudden, her muscles refused to give her any strength and she wasn't able to support her weight anymore. She lost her balance and her body which ahd courageously endured the ordeal until now fell to its demise toward the ground covered in her sweat.

But she wasn't the only on: at the exact same time, the hypogriff's feet failed it and it fell in a similar fashion. The two opponents, who were proudly standing in front of each other a second ago, were now lying in a pool of their own sweat.

Matthew raised her head to loo at the hypogriff.

The hypogriff raised its head to look at Matthew.

Was it their ultimate attempt at proving their superiority, even as they were lying pathetically on the floor? No, Matthew knew it wasn't that. She forced her weak mucles to work, and slowly but surely, Matthew stood up. The hypogriff, seeing her effort, did the same, and soon the two of them were once again back up, though their legs were shaking.

They walked in each other's direction; without fear; without apprehension. Eventually, they were right in front of each other. Then, Matthew raised her hadn while the hypogriff raised its claw-

 _CLAP!_

-and they exchanged a firm handshake, an undisputable proof that they had recognized their opponent's valor.

Matthew didn't remember why they even started to fight in the first place, but something filled her chest -it was pride, the pride of a fight well fought against a strong opponent.

(Wait...a strong opponent? Oh no, am I becoming like Mordred-san?! Noooo, I don't want to fight anyone...)

It was as she was thinking this that Matthew heard a noise beside her, along the lines of:

"Shaa~!"

Speak of the devil, when she turned around to see the source of the noise, she saw none other than Mordred...standing in a position similar to Matthew's improvised stance. He looked like he was having a lot of fun.

"Shaa~! Mashu-chan, yer fighting spirit was so incredible! Yer really manly!"

"Stop calling me manly! No, in the first place, how long have you been here?!"

"From the beggining!"

"Then you could have helped me! I was almost eaten here, you know?!"

"Eaten? What are ya saying, it's harmless."

Mordred put back his left foot on the ground and approached the hypogriff without any hesitation. Matthew had expected the creature to attack instantly and tear Mordred in pieces; but nothing of the sort happened. Mordred reached his hand and petted the hypogriff's neckline. The latter let out a satisfied cry and rubbed its gigantic feathere head against Mordred.

"Haha! Stop, it tickles!"

After being caressed for a moment, the hypogriff freed itself from Mordred's embrass and spread its big eagle wings. The moment after, it was taking flight and disppeared from Matthew's field of vision as fast as it had appeared. Instantly.

"It...it could fly from the beggining?"

Suddenly, Matthew's intense fight felt quite pointless. But whatever, she had a more pressing question.

"Mordred-san, what the fuck?"

"Wha?"

"Where did this unreal creature come from?! How can it be walking the campus so freely?!"

"It must have escaped from the stables."

"The-the stables? Youre talking about a stable filled with hrse, right? For the horseriding club, right?"

But Mordred ignored her completely legitimate question, and started to walk down the stairs. Matthew followed after him; in hindsight, maybe she didn't want to have an answer to her question.

"I'm starting to understand what Artoria-sensei meant when he mentioned dying." Matthew complained with her arms hanging. How many life threatening situations had she faced, even excluding the day before today? "Ah, by the way Mordred-san, it seems that the Rider class' homeroom teacher is late. That's a lot of teachers who are late."

"The Rider class'...Ah, ya mean 1-Rider. Hmm, 1-Rider's homeroom teacher should be...right, it has to be him!"

"Him?"

"Him!"

When he pronounced this last word, Mordred raised his hand and pointed toward a particular direction. By now they had reacher the ground floor and were walking not far from the school gate. And it was exactly toward the latter that Mordred was pointing. Even so, Matthew couldn't see anyone at the gate. Even Sasaki Kojiro, the Gatekeeper of Hell, wasn't there.

"Mordred-san, where exactly do you see a teacher?"

"Huh? I told ya: he's over there!"

"But there's nobo...wait."

Suddenly, realization came to Matthew. Mordred wasn't indicating the school gate; he was pointing at beyond the school gate. Matthew concentrated her gaze to see if there was anyone outside coming in their direction; and she quickly sptted them: there was a car rushing in their direction!

It was a large black car like those you'd see in a gangster movies, with tainted glassed and big anough to contain several people. Its engine was roaring loudly like there was actually lighting coming out of it; and the speed at which it was approaching was enough to cruch anything on its way.

Itw as such a display of mankind's power that was approaching Seihai High dangerously.

"M-Mordred-san! We need to get away quickly or we'll get hit!"

"Yeah, she's right."

"Huh?!"

A third voice rose behind the pair. It was a male voice that was already engraved in Matthew's brain.

"Sasaki-san!"

"Oh, old man Sasaki!"

Indeed, it was Sasaki Kojiro, Seihai High's gate keeper who was standing behind them and put his hands on their shoulders.

"Leave this to me. You children need to step back."

"W-what are you gonna do?"

"Me?" Sasaki looked back at them as he was heading to his rightful place. He smiled in a cool fashion. "My job."

Now that this had been said, Sasaki returned to his position and blocked the way to the school. On its side, the car was still dashing in their direction and showed no sign of slowing down even though there's clearly someone standing in the way.

Sasaki didn't show any hesitation either; he grabbed the handle of his wooden katana and held it with both hand as Matthew had seen him do previously. He was staring at the thundering vehicle as though it was a long-awaited enemy he was looking at.

The car was getting closer.

Sasaki was ready.

"Each year, its the same."

The car was now so close there would be impact any second...! Sasaki calculated the distance and speed of the metallic bull, and swung his sword in response.

"I'll show you what it means to always be late-BLEEURGH!"

The car percuted Sasaki; the gate keeper was swept away mercilessly and made several ungraceful rolls in the air, before landing heavily on the ground with a grunt pain. There was the sound of several bones breaking and the samyrau's body was covered on bruises and other injuries.

He was showing no sign of life.

"S-Sasaki-saaaaaaaan!"

Suddenly, a deep man voice rose from inside the car.

"Hey, wasn't there like a sound just now? Did we hit something?"

"I wouldn't know, oyabun. It's hard to see anything with those sunglasses."

"Well, whatever. I'm sure whatever we hit is doing just fine!"

"No, they're not." Matthew muttered in disbelief.

The next instant, the door of the car opened and a large man, probably the one with a deep voicce, came out. He was very tall, at least two meters, though he wasn't as tall as Herakles-sensei. He was quite muscular as well, and had red short hair along with an equally red beard. He was wearing a black suit and sunglasses like the special agents from that one movie called M.I. something.

When he saw the large man, Mordred ran toward him.

"Iskandar-sensei!"

"Oho, it's you Mordred-kun!"

The man reffered to as Iskandar-sensei reacted in a similar way when he noticed Mordred coming in his direction; He removed his sunglasses to put thel in his breast pocket and patted Mordred's blond head with his large hand.

"Long time no see! I see that you've finally joined the school. Let me guess, you're in your father's class, am I right?"

"Hai!"

"Hahaha! Expected no less. Hmm?" Iskandar-sensei then noticed Matthew who hadn't moved and was still recovering from the shock. "Who is that over here?"

"It's Mashu-chan! She's my bro!"

"Oh, I see. That's good, that's good!"

The large sillhouette approached Matthew witha seemingly friednly smile. Yet, for some reason, Matthew couldn't help but be afraid. The hypogriff she had faced earlier was nothing in comparison to this man. Iskandar-sensei came to her and put his hands on both of her shoulder.

"I'm glad to see Mordred-kun has found a brother in arm. Brother in arms must always support each other, understood?"

There was a frightening pression in his words and on Matthew's shoulder. All she could do was to babble an answer.

"Y-yes..."

"Oh, that's right." Iskandar-sensei removed his hands from Matthew and turned around to speak to the men in black who had come out of the car after him. "You guys can go now. And make sure to make these Athanaton bastard spill the bean!"

"""Hai, oyabun!"""

(O-oyabun!) Matthew jumped in fear when she heard the "o" word.

"Mor-Mordred-san." She approached Mordred and spoke in his ear. "This man is a yakuza?!"

"Yeah! He's the boss of this part of the city. He's also a history teacher, Iskandar-sensei!"

"Ya..yakuza...history teacher..."

The men all dressed in black got back inside the car, and the latter started to roar again. When they backpedalled to exit the school, the men in black drove over Sasaki's lifeless body a second time, exorting another grunt of pain from teh poor gate keeper.

"Anyway, I should probably head to class now. Hm? My, Sasaki-san, you shouldn't sleep on the ground like that; it's bad for your health! Well, see you two later!"

"Yeah!"

"Y...yes."

* * *

 **Assassin class**

* * *

Because they had been going and running left and right for a moment now, and because of her intense meeting with the hypogriff, Matthew requested that they took a break. Maybe Mordred was a bit tired as well because he didn't voice any objection.

After walking back toward the inside of the school, Mordred led Matthew across a completely empty field the size of a small vacant lot. On the other side, they spotted a couple benches bathing in the sunlight. Of course, since most people were noramlly in class at such a time, these were empty. Thus, it was with a sigh of relief for her aching feet that Matthew rested on the bench. She didn't forget to do it with a certain grace, however tired she was; she couldn't forget her statut.

As previously mentioned, the bench they were sitting on was blessed with the morning sunlight, not too hot nor too fresh. It was just at the right angle too, in a way so the sun wasn't blinding them but caressing them gently. Just like when they arrived this morning, the wind was blowing softly from in front of them.

This way, Matthew was able to relax despite the hostile environment.

She took a deep breath and leaned her head backward as she reflected on her day so far. But doing so only made her body more sensible to the fatigue.

"I can't believe this is going to be my everyday life."

"It's awesome, ain't it?"

"I wouldn't exactly say 'awesome' though..."

Matthew had a hard time understanding what part of it was 'awesome'. If anything, she had felt more stress today than in her whole life. And yet, for Mordred who was sitting next to her and swinging his feet excitedly like a kid, this kind of life was probably exciting. Maybe it was psychology, but despite all the trouble it had caused for her, Mordred's childish enthusiasm was kind of refreshing for Matthew.

"...I guess that's how elderly people feel when they see their grandchildren fool around."

"I don't know what yer talking about but somehow I feel insulted."

"You deserve it for all the times you called me 'manly'."

Now that she was finally having some rest, Matthew was starting to ask herself question about Mordred. She didn't know if she could ask them though; not because it would be indiscreet, but because interrogating this simple soul felt like interrogating a child: it made her feel dirty.

But the longer she thought, the more she was curious, and eventually her curiosity gained the upper hand on her moral.

"Say, Mordred-san, can I ask you a question?

"Hm? Why do ya look unsure like that? Of course ya can!"

"Thank you. Erm, I wanted to know about your relation with Galahad-san."

"Eh, this guy?"

At the same moment Mordred said the words 'this guy', his cheerful expression was tainted with utter annoyance. It seemed like Galahad was the conversation subject to avoid wth Mordred; even if she knew that, Matthew didn't feel like stepping back.

"You two live together right? I was wondering what was th reason for it. Is he a distant relative of yours?"

"Hmph."

But Mordred decided to cross his arms and to pout rather than answering. It was cute in its own way, but it was also annoying because he was the one who said it was okay for Matthew to ask.

"Mordred-san?"

"Hmph."

"Mordred-san."

"Hmph."

"Mordred-san!"

"Hmph!"

No could do, Mordred stubbornly refused to stop pouting and kept looking away even as Matthew was shaking his shoulder relentlessly.

"Why are you being so stubborn!"

"Hmmmppppppphhh!"

Eventually, Matthew completely gave up. Obviously, Mordred wouldn't open her mouth as long as she asked this question. Yet, this absolute refusal was making Matthew ask herself even more questions.

(What's with him? Does he dislike Galahad-san that much? But why? Why doesn't he want to explain me why Galahad-san and him are living together?...Hm? Why are Galahad-san and Mordred living together? W h y...?)

And then, realization dawned on Matthew.

"Ah...I-I'm truly sorry, Mordred-san!"

"Hmph!-...Huh?"

"I-I shouldn't have asked about that!"

"Mashu-chan, what are you..."

"It-it's perfectly alright, you don't need to explain yourself!"

"Mashu-chan, what-"

"I understand perfectly!"

Matthew could her blood concentrating in her cheek; no, actually it was her whole face that was blushing. She was also fidgeting, having no idea what to say and simply blurting out whatever was coming to her.

"I-I didn't know that you and Galahad-san were like that...! It's alright if you want to keep it a secret, I won't tell anyone!"

"...Huh?"

"I-I think it's perfectly fine for t-two boys to love each other, really!"

"...Huh?!"

Mordred sudenly understood what she was on about, and his face turned red as well. Yet, along with the embarassment, there was also disbelief and horror mixed in his expression.

"What are ya saying...! There's no way this guy and I...! Yer wrong, Mashu-chan!"

"No, you don't have to refute it! I-I understand why you like to call me m-manly now!"

"No, I said yer wrong! He's just the son of Otousama's friend who had a fight with his father and-"

"It's alright-it's alright-it's alright-it's alright-it's alright-it's alright-it's alright!"

"Yer not even listening! Yer wrong! Yer wrong ya hear me!"

" It's alright-it's alright-it's alright-it's alright-it's alright-!"

"Fou! Fou!"

"Fou-fou-fou-fou-fou-fou...huh?"

"Fou! Fou!"

Matthew realized a strange noise ressembling an animal's cry was coming from in front of her; more precisely, it was at her feet.

"Fou! Fou!"

When she looked down, she first saw that it was something white and fluffy, like a sheep plush. Then, she understood it was really a small animal standing at her feet. She couldn't tell exactly what it was supposed to be: from the look of it, it was some kind of dog yet it had long fluffy ears like a rabbit's, and it had the face of a cat. To complete this satanic patchwork, the small creature was wearing a piece of clothe like a scarf or a napkin wrapped around its neck. It was actually quite cute.

"Fou~!"

Before Matthew could ponder more on this subject, the unknown creature jumped on her knees with a cute cry and curled up like a cat. It was at this moment, when she felt the softness of its fur and saw the small animal rub its head against her belly, that realization dawned on Matthew: the creature was quite cute as well. There was a theory saying that the closer a human being was to a cat, the more stupid they became.

Matthew experienced this first-hand.

"Awww. Who's a cute cat-dog-squirrel thing? Who's a cute cat-dog-squirrel thing? Yes you are!"

Matthew's hand immediatly reached for the creature's ears and paws, as though attracted by a curse, and she undertook to pet it like never she had pet before. The small animal rolled around with a small caterwaul to get on its back, thus showing its white fluffy belly to her, just waiting to be stroked.

Matthew's sanity snapped, and after joining her hand with a ' _Itadakimasu_ ', she plunged her hands in the white jungle of fur and resumed her intense petting.

Eventually, Mordred stopped sulking and noticed the fluffy creature on Matthew's thights.

"Oh, it's Fou-kun!"

"You know what this thing is? ( _D'awwwwww!_ )"

"Aye! It's the chairman's pet! The chairman let him run around the school freely, so ya'll see him often. He even come in class sometimes!"

"I see. So his name is Fou-kun, huh?"

" I dunno. It probably has an actual name, but everyone call him Fou-kun because of the funny noise he makes. Ya can just call him that."

Mordred reached for Fou-kun and stroke his head gently.

"Fou! Fou~!"

"Ah, it's true it makes a funny sound!" Matthew affirmed with an amused tone as she kept petting his belly. "Whar animal is he supposed to be though?"

"The chairman said he is a cat!"

"A cat..."

Anyway, Matthew decided he was a cat of the Fou-kun specie and didn't think more about it. At any rate, they had been on this bench for a long time even though they were supposed to go back in class once the visit is done. Playing with Fou-kun actually helped Matthew forget the aching of her feet and filled her with energy.

"Alright! Mordred-san, what is our next destination?!"

She jumped out of the bench while holding Fou-kun with her hands. The latter didn't seem to want to leave her and stayed dutifully in her arms. When Mordred realized Matthew was roaring and ready to go, he stood up as well and pointed his finger passionately in direction of a building in front of them.

"Next stop is the Assassin class building!"

"Eh? But, Mordred-san, isn't that the Berserker building we visited first?"

Indeed, the cleaner than clean building Mordred was pointing at was the place whereMatthew had to run and dodge the mountain of muscle Herakles-sensei to survive.

"What are ya saying; I'm not talking about the Berserker building, I'm talking about _this_ building!"

But Mordred's finger didn't budge, still indicating the same direction. Then, it occured to Matthew wasn't pointing at the Berserker building specifically: he was pointing _in front of them_.

Between the bench they had been sitting on and the faraway Berserker building, there was the empty lot Matthew and Mordred had crossed to come here. Matthew didn't knew why, but her instinct was telling her Mordred was actually talking about this empty field.

"...Mordred-san, this is a vancant lot."

"No, this is where the Assassin building is, but ya can't see it!"

"...Must feel good to be an idiot."

"Huh, wha- Wait, Mashu-chan come back, don't walk away! It's an invisible building!"

"An invisible building?"

Nothing could surprise Matthew anymore. Though, an invisible building had a nice ring to it, like a ghost story or one of the omnipresent seven mysteries. Matthew's curiosity was stimulated.

"Aye, ya can't see it because the Assassin building has the Presence Concealment skill; no one can see it!"

"But if we can't see it, how do we enter, Mordred-san?"

"That's a good question, Mashu-chan!" Mordred vigorously raised his fist. "We can't see it, but we can feel it!"

"Eh?" Matthew tilted her head and then looked at the empty square. "No matter how much I look, I don't feel anything."

"No, no, you must do it in a manlier way!"

"M-manlier..."

"Aye, like..."

Mordred, who had kept his fist risen high, closed his eyes as though he was focusing his mind. Then, he started to spin around like a lost child choosing a direction to take randomely. At some point, he started spinning like crazy, so much that Matthew's head started to spin as well. Then, Mordred stopped spinning abruptly and swung his arm down, his finger pointing at the vacant lot.

"It has to be theeeeeeerrrreeeeeeee!"

Suddenly , without any warning, Mordred ran recklessly in the direction he had pointed at. He almost looked like a madman chasing after a mirage; Matthew expected him to trip into nothing and fall miserably on the ground. Yet, what happened next was- _BONK!_

"Mordred-san!"

Against all expectations and laws of physics, as soon as Mordred reached a certain distance, there was a loud and painful noise as it seemed his head had hit something that wasn't there; he then bounced back several times because of his own momentum and ended up at Matthew's feet. For the second time today, Mordred's eyes were rolled back and there was a large red mark on his forehead.

Matthew's first thought was that maybe that was the reason why he was stupid. Her second thought was that she had to help him somehow.

"M-Mordred-san, daijobou?"

"Ghawaghawaghhh..."

"Though, that's incedible. I can't believe there's something here..."

No matter how much Matthew waved her hand in the air where Mordred had bounced off, there was nothing.

"What should I do? Right, in this situation, a highschool girl would take him to the infirmary!...But for some reason I feel this isn't the thing to do here."

Matthew looked around in panick while still holding the fluffy Fou-kun in her arms. Just when she was about to finally take Mordred to the infirmary, she heard a voice from behind her.

"My, what happened here?"

When she turned around, Matthew saw an ambiguously gendered person with long, green hair wearing the male teacher uniform standing there. He was looking at the scene with a worried expression.

"My, if it isn't Mordred-kun. What happened?"

"Ah, sensei! Mordred-san hit his head against...well I don't know what actually!"

But when the teacher's voice reached Mordred's ears, the latter instantly recovered from the shock and he sprung up.

"Enkidu-sensei, ohayo!"

Although one of his eyes was still rolled backward.

"Mordred-san, are you sure you're okay?!"

On his side, the one refered to as Enkidu-sensei simply chuckled as if it was a light matter. Even Mordred acted as though nothing particular happened. This confirmed Matthew's guess that it happened often, which only made her worry more.

"Enkidu-sensei, we need yer help!"

"Oh? If it's within my abilities, I'd happy to come to your help." Then, Enkidu-sensei noticed Matthew from the corner of his eye. "My, sorry I didn't notice you were here. Are you Mordred-kun's friend by any chance?"

"That's not it, Enkidu-sensei!"

Just like with their previous encounters with the teachers, Mordred was about to make an outrageous statement. But this time, Matthew wouldn't let him do that.

"Mashu-chan is my br-"

"I am his _acquaintance._ " Matthew interrupted.

She especially insisted on the last word and intentionally tries to sound cold. The blow seemed fatal to Mordred who swayed and looked at her in shock as if he was going to cry.

"M-Mashu-chan, that's mean."

"Think a little about how _I_ feel, dammit!"

But Matthew suddenly remembered that they were in front of a teacher, and she turned toward the latter with the intention of apologizing for this pathetic bickering between students. But when she did; she saw that Enkidu-sensei was chuckling again, visibly amused by their quarrel.

"You two seem to get along well. I am relieved to see Mordred-kun has managed to make some friend on his own. Mashu-san, please look after him for us adults." Enkidu sensei said with a benevolent expression. "Ah, I say this but I haven't presented myself either; sorry." The androgynous man bowed respectfully to Matthew. "I am the homeroom teacher for the class 1-Lancer, Enkidu."

Matthew returned him the favour and bowed back. Now that they were done with the formalities, Enkidu-sensei straightened back and walked up to Mordred.

"Speaking of which, I am late for my class because of some...accident with the P. E teacher. But you said you needed my help, didn't you Mordred-kun?"

"Aye! I'm making Mashu-chan isit the school, but we can't get in the Assassin building!"

"Oh, I see. Indeed that's a problem."

After hearing what their problem was, Enkidu-sensei turned around and walked toward the mysterious vacant lot. On her side, Matthew didn't knew how seeking help from a teacher would change the situation. She tried to ask Mordred with her eyes, but the latter only tilted his head in confusion; she thus resolved to ask him directly, but not loud enough for Enkidu-sensei to hear.

"Ah, Enkidu-sensei is the only person in the school who can find the Assassin building easily. He has the Presence Detection skill!"

Matthew still had no idea what a 'skill' was, but she understood that Enkidu-sensei was their only hope. Speaking of the latter, he was done looking at the empty space, and he reached for something invisible with his hand.

"Right. The entrance is here."

At the exact same moment his hand seemed to grab something, a three stories-tall building suddenly appeared where the vacant lot was just second ago, blocking the sunlight and casting a shadow on Matthew and co.

Matthew almost had a heart attack.

"Wh...ah..."

"Aye! Arigatou Enkidu-sensei!"

"You're welcome, Mordred-kun. Mm, if you haven't passed by my class yet, I guess we'll see each other again."

And with that, Enkidu-sensei walked away and disappeared. Matthew was beholding the now perfectly visible Assassin building, still incredulous at the fact something of this size could have been invisible to the point sunlight coult come through. But this honestly wasn't the most surprising thing she had seen today. Moreover, aside from it's lack of presence, the building looked perfectly normal, at least from outside.

"Mashu-chan, ya coming?" Mordred called her as he entered the building, quickly followed by Matthew.

* * *

"This place is kind of creepy."

At first sight, the Assassin building was just like any other. It didn't have mythological beasts roaming around, nor people shouting at the top of their lungs constantly. In fact, it was pretty silent. Too silent.

Completely silent.

Even in a class filled with the most diligent students in the world, you would at least hear the teacher speaking; even from outside the classroom. Yet, ever since they had stepped inside the building, Matthew didn't hear a single noise aside from their own footsteps. At first, she thought it was a nice change of atmosphere from the Berserker building; yet, after a couple minute passed inside hallways of the Assassin building, she honestly missed the noisiness of the former.

The problem wasn't only the lack of noise. After all, Matthew was used to be alone at home for long periods of time. However, since they had entered this eerie building, Matthew felt as thought she was being watched; which was strange considering they were utterly alone in those quiet hallways. Fou-kun, who was still comfortably settled in Matthew's arms, was looking left and right almost frenetically, as though he was afraid of something.

"Mordred-san, do you know why it's so silent? It feels really uncomfortable."

"Aye. Ya can't hear anyone in the Assassin building because their words have the Presence Concealment skill!"

"Huh? I don't get it, what is the point of speaking if nobody can hear you?"

"That' because they're from the Assassin class! They gotta speak low and stuff."

"Really? I thought the class names were pretty randoms..."

But the idea of it sent a chiver down Matthew's spine. Did the class names really have a meaning? Then, was the fact that Matthew felt as though someone was watching her not just a gut feeling? The more Matthew thought about it, the more her stomach was feeling tense. She started to act like Fou-kun, looking behind her or at the ceiling to see if no one was following them.

Her concerns were pointless though. It was obvious there was one beside her and Mordred. She couldn't see anyone and she couldn't hear anyone, so it felt like she was being paranoid.

Then, just when Matthew was starting to relax somewhat, suddenly someone spoke softly right next to her ear with a creepy voice:

"I heard that most Assassin class students who graduate from Seihai High becomes hitmen."

This time, Matthew's heart definitely stopped for a second and her whole body was covered in cold sweet. An instant later, her body finally realized the situation and Matthew jumped back while making the sound of a frightened mouse.

"Kyaa!"

"Pfffhahahahaha! Mashu-chan is so easy to scare!"

"T-That's not funny, Mordred-san!"

Standing right behind her, Mordred was rolling on the floor while holding his belly, laughing so hard he had a hard time breathing. Matthew on the other hand wasn't laughing at all. Her heart was beatting extremely fast and she was still shivering. She could feel that Fou-kun's heart was beating fast as well.

"G-hahaha!-Gomen, Mashu-chan! Ya were -hahaha!- so tense I couldn't resist!"

"Geez, I said it's not funny! Don't do something like that ever again."

Mordred stood up -not without laughing- and apologized properly to a sulking Matthew. Matthew sighed heavily before accepting Mordred's excuses. She had been scarred to death; however, Mordred's prank had been effective in reducing Matthew's stress. Now she was laughing heartily with Mordred.

 _"What he said is true, though."_

"...Huh?"

All of Matthew's hair stood up on their end.

She was certain she just heard a deep, mysterious voice behind her just now. r, _Mordred was in front of her_.

"M-Mordred-san, I told you to stop doing that!"

"Ha? What are ya talking about, Mashu-chan? I didn't say anything."

"B-But just now, didn't you hear..."

Mordred tilted his head.

"Nah, I didn't hear anything." Mordred didn't seem in the least concerned and proceeded in the visit without listening to Matthew. "Come on, Mashu-chan! I'll show ya one of the classroom!"

"W-Wait, Mordred-san! I have a really bad feeling about this!"

Mordred guided Matthew to one of the room on the first floor. As could be expected, the panel above the door was saying:

 _1-Assassin_

Without an ounce of hesitation, Mordred opened the door to the classroom and walked in. Matthew had an impeding feeling of doom in her guts, as if something bad would happen if she took a single step inside this room. Fou-kun probably felt the same because he started to struggle in Matthew's arms. Nonetheless, Matthew quickly followed after Mordred since she'd rather that than staying alone a single second in this building.

Thus, the two of them (plus Fou-kun) entered the room 1-Assassin. Matthew closed her eyes a little in apprehension before stepping in. To distract her mind from her bad feeling, she mused that this place would make an excellent haunted mansion for the school festival.

"Aye! This is what an Assassin classroom looks like!"

Matthew heard Mordred's voice near her. Realizing she was acting ridiculous by being so afraid, she reluctantly opened her eyes. And then, she saw...

She saw...

She saw...

"..."

Absolutely nothing.

"...What?"

That's right. Just like the 1-Archer room which was devoid of students or even furnitures, there was litterally nothing inside this classroom. Unlike in the previous case, Matthew was inside the room this time, and all she could do was behold the lack of everything. She looked at Mordred and saw the latter was looking back at her, fidgetting excitedly as though he was waiting for a reaction. Maybe that was because she had tsukkomi in the previous buildings as well.

"...Mordred-san, is that supposed to be a joke as well?"

"Aye?"

"What do you mean, 'aye?"?! There's clearly nothing in there!"

"Aye!"

A vein popped on Matthew's head.

She grabbed Mordred's brightly smiling face and proceed to wrestle him on the ground like she had seen so many manga characters do. It worked surprisingly well, and soon enough Mordred was frantically tapping the ground with his hand as a sign of surrender; Matthew kept wrestling him.

"W-wait...ugh...Mashu-chan..."

"What is it, Mordred-san? If you want to speak please articulate." Matthew's tone was cold.

"...I...gha...I can explain...!"

"Oh, but youve explained plenty already. Kono baka."

Foam started to form around Mordred's mouth, and the tapping was getting weaker. At the same time, a feeling of satisfaction was filling Matthew's chest because of how many times she had wanted to hit Mordred before. However, when he couldn't even tap anymore, Matthew realized what she was doing.

(No! This isn't what a highschool girl would do!)

That's right. Matthew was above all this violence. She knew it deep in her heart. With grace and elegance, she freed the poor Mordred and took Fou-kun back in her amrs; then she gave her best smile.

"Come on, Mordred-san! We have no time to lose if we want to visit the whole school!"

"...gh...a...Wait, Mashu-chan...!" Just like he did after bumping into the invisible building, Mordred recovered at surprising speed. "I'm not joking! Ya can't nobody here because they're invisible!"

"Invisible?"

"Aye! All the Assassin class students have Presence Concealment! The teachers also have Presence Concealment! The furniture too has Presence Concealment!"

In hindsight, it was true that the building itself was completely invisible before Enkidu-sensei found it for them; she should have considered the possibility in the first place. Yet she didn't because she really wanted to hit Mordred after all. Matthew felt shameful for her behavior. Mordred on the other hand didn't seem to mind at all and was looking around the classroom cheerfully.

"Though, that's the first time I actually came here."

"Eh? I thought Mordred-san knew the school by heart -Ah! Fou-kun, what's wrong!"

Yet, the longer they were staying inside the room, the stronger Fou-kun was struggling inside Matthew's arms. By now, it was to the point where Matthew could barely hold him, like a cat who had enough of being hugged. Except that in Fou-kun's case, the little dog-cat-thing seemed completely frightened as if a bear was rushing in their direction. Eventually, Fou-kun finally succeeded in escaping Matthew's grip and forcefully sprung out of her arms in direction of the exit. However in doing so he didn't aim well and hit the light switch of the room.

The moment the little creature left the room in a hurry, Matthew and Mordred were plunged in the dark.

"Wait, why was the light turned on in the middle of the day?!"

It was at this moment that Matthew noticed the complete absence of windows in the classroom or unknown reason. Because of that, the room was invaded by darkness barring the light coming from the hallway. But Matthew wasn't as concerned by the lack of light than by Fou-kun's strange behavior. When she turned toward Mordred to ask him, she realized he wasn't looking at the door by which Fou-kun left, but at the unfathomable darkness covering the classroom; she also noticed he was sweating a lot. When she looked in the same direction as him, she understood why.

One by one, they appeared as though floating in the shadows.

White masks in the shape of skulls.

They were appearing one by one. At first, there were only four or five, but eventually there were enough masks floating to disguise a whole class with; which made Matthew realize that _they were the students of the Assassin class_. By now the masks were staring at them, and they were staring back. Unlike her epic fight with the hypogriff, this time Matthew didn't where she was supposed to look. This made her feel more and more as though she was staring into the abyss.

Then, at last, a voice rose from somewhere in the classroom. It was a soulless voice, filled with hatred and yet a bit of tiredness.

 _ _"That was the chairman's pet..."__

 _ _"Yeah..."__

 _ _"Who are these people...?"__

 _ _"They had the chairman's pet with them..."__

More and more voices reached Matthew's ears. However, for some reason they all sounded the same. They were speaking slowly and creepily like members of a cult during a ceremony.

 _ _"If they had the chairman's pet, then they must be on the chairman's side..."__

 _ _"The chairman's dogs..."__

 _ _"Then that means they're the enemy..."__

 _ _"If that's the case, then it is obvious what we must do..."__

 _ _"""Yeah."""__

The first reflexe of Matthew and Mordred was to walk back slowly toward the exit. Even while doing so, the masks were staring at them, sending chills down Matthew's spine and she felt her stomach was in a mess. When they were only a step away from the door, Matthew heard Mordred gulp and he said:

"All those who want the chairman dead are put in the Assassin class."

 _"_ _ _We have to execute."__

 _ _""Execute.""__

 _ _"""Execute."""__

 _ _""""Execute.""""__

 _ _"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Execute!"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""__

All the masks started to sing in unison and Matthew and Mordred frantically ran outside with all the speed of a hunted animal. At the same time, a mass of black shadows flowed frominside the classroom to chase after them while throwing knifes at them.

"Why didn't you say that earlier?! And don't use me as a shield!" Matthew screamed from the bottom of her lungs.

Matthew dodged the flying black dart as they escaped from the building. She hoped they would be safe once they left the Assassin building, but a quick glace behind her told her the shadows were still pursuing them like a pack of hungry wolves through a forest. She was doing her best to analyse the situation clamly but her heart was pounding like a hammer in her chest and all she could think of was running forward as fast as possible.

Behind her, the Assassin students were repeating the same word over and over like a broken record:

 _ _""""Execute. Execute. Execute. Execute. Exe-""""__

They were able to keep a certain distance between them and their pursuers, but they wouldn't be able to do that ad vitam eternam. Moreover, the shadows were moving in a strange way that didn't let Matthew and Mordred predict their movements. They were moving like...well, shadows. At this rate, they would catch up with them within a minute.

(That's not good; I need to stay calm in a situation like this! Okay, let's see how I can-)

 _ _SHACK!__

One of the black daggers the Assassins were throwing at them passed right in front of Matthew's face before hitting the wall next to her, leaving a large hole like bullet.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Her calm lasted one second.

"Mashu-chan, are ya okay?!"

"Mordred-san!"

Matthew felt hope fill her chest again when she heard Mordred calling her. If they worked together, surely they would find a way to-

"Wait a minute- Mordred-san they're already onto you!"

"Aye?"

Alas, when she turned her head to see how Mordred was faring, she noticed that several Assassin had already caught up with Mordred and were holding him to stop him; but Mordred didn't seem to have noticed and was still running as if they weren't here. The Assassin students were doing their best to slow him down but they were being dragged around by Mordred's surprising strength. However, once Matthew told him, it seems Mordred finally understood there were several hands holding his clothes and legs. At the same moment, his magical strength left him and he fell heavily on the ground. Quickly, several other shadows pounded on him like predators.

"Mordred-san!-"

 _ _"You are about to join hi-ARGH!?"__ One of the Assassin had managed to catch up with Matthew and whispered in her ear, but Matthew immediatly punched his solar plexus by instinct.

"Wha, I'm sorry! No wait, I'm not sorry at all! Leave me alone!"

But it was no use. Soon, the same thing that heppened to Mordred happened to her and three shadows were able to grab her legs and ankle. Matthew did her best to shake them off, but in vain. Her speed was greatly reduced from the weight; their was no way she could escape them now.

Turning around, she saw all the shadows were now making a great black wave rushing in her direction, ready to sweep her away (she also saw Mordred's foot sticking out of the pitch black mass). She shouldn't have looked behind however, as this action broke her focus and caused her to fall down.

"Kya!"

The second after, the mass of black hoods swallowed her. Matthew shut her eyes in fear of what was to come next.

 _ _"Execute."__

 _ _""Execute.""__

 _ _"""Execute."""__

 _ _""""Execute.""""__

 _ _"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Execute!"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""__

She was surrounded by darkness. All around her, white skull masks were staring at her and laughing creepily (and Mordred's foot was still sticking out).

 _(_ There's no hope left...! This is the end...)

Matthew abandoned all hope.

Yet, just as she felt her strength leaving her and stopped struggling...

 _I am the bone of my sword._

"...Ah?"

But the next moment, salvation arrived in the form of kitchen implements: kitchen knifes, wooden spoons, metal dippers and at least four different brands of detergent rained down like metors on the Assassin students massed around Matthew and Mordred.

 _"Nani...?!"_

 _"Who is...?!"_

 _"This attack... It's him...!"_

 _""""IMPOSSIBRUH!""""_

The darkness surrounding Matthew immediatly dissipated and the Shadows retreated a few steps back to keep whoever launched this attack in check.

Finally free from this threat, Matthew raised her head to see who it was that saved them from certain death. But another part of her, the housewife sleeping in Matthew already knew. Their savior was a man in his late twenties with a dark skin and standing-up white hair; in one hand he was holding a used floorcloth and in the other was a rare brand of detergent that Matthew could only dream of, along with a pink apron wearing the name of the school.

That apron...

That attack...

This man could only be...

"The super-janitor!"

"Aye! It's EMIYA-san!"

On their side, tha Assassins were hesitating, some of them were already walking back. Obviously they were fearing the man called EMIYA.

 _"Shit! It's that guy!"_

 _"He's too strong for us!"_

 _"What should we do?!"_

 _"Isn't that obvious? We need to retreat!"_

 _""Retreat!""_

 _"""Retreat!"""_

 _"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""Retreat!""""""""""""""""""""""""""""_

And with that, all the shady students ran away like mousese as fast as they had ran after them. As the last Assassin passed the door to the Assassin building, the latter became invisible again.

"Mattaku." EMIYA sighed. "It's the first day and those Assassin kids are already causing trouble. I don't understand why the chairman even let them inside the school." But as he was speaking to himself, he remembered Matthew's and Mordred's presence. "Ah, are you guys alright-"

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Ha?!"

With watery eyes, Matthew had jumped on EMIYA's leg and was holding it tightly like she was about to fall from a cliff.

"Thank you so much! I really thought I was gonna die here! You're a hero of justice!"

"C-calm down! Hm, in the first place, it's not right to call me a hero of justice. Such a title isn't even worth-"

"Aye! EMIYA-san is our hero!"

"Not you too...!"

In turn, Mordred jumped on EMIYA's other leg, except he seemed to be doing it for fun. As for Matthew, her nerves were in a state where she couldn't hold back her tears nor listen to what EMIYA was saying.

"A heroooooooooooooooooooooooo! Whaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"A hero! A hero! A hero!"

"Both of you, stop!"

Eventually though, he managed to get the two of them off his legs, and he sighed even more deeply than before. He then cleared his throat and looked at the two of them.

"Anyway, it's good that you two are safe. You were really lucky that I was passing by."

"Huh? You mean you're not here because of the commotion created by thirty people running at the same time? Why are you here then?" Matthew asked, but as a reply EMIYA put his finger on his lips to tell her to be silent.

He then looked at the side, toward a small space where the trash was accumulated before being burned in the incinerator. Matthew and Mordred also looked at the trash pile with curious gazes, but no matter how much they looked, it was definitely a normal pile of trash. Then, suddenly and only for a second, one of the trash bag moved slightly; it was so slight that Matthew wondered if it wasn't her imagination.

"(Mashu-chan, it moved!)"

"(Eh, so it really wasn't just my imagination.)"

EMIYA must have seen it as well because as soon as it happened, he started walking in direction of the trash pile slowly quietly. Then, when he was just in front of it, he suddenly plunged into the mountain of trash.

"Ah, EMIYA-san?!"

Immediatly after, there were noise of two persons fighting as well as muffled shouts. Because of the agitation inside it, the pile of trash collapsed and turned into a sea of trash. Sea of trash from which EMIYA eventually emerged.

But he wasn't alone: with only one hand he was lifting a boy around Matthew's age with red hair (and who looked a lot like EMIYA) who was struggling to get away from the super-janitor's grip. Without success.

"Grr, let go of me, kono baka!"

"Shirou, who did you sneak inside the school again?! No, forget about this; I already told you I won't let you join Seihai High, baka!"

"It's unfair! You went to Seihai High too, so why can't go?! I want to become a hero of justice, kono baka!"

"No, I won't let you become a hero, baka! Anyway, you're a trespasser so I'll bring you to the gate!"

All while fighting with each other, EMIYA walked away in direction of the school gate, holding Shirou with one hand and forcing detergent down his throat with the other. With this, Matthew and Mordred were left alone like they originaly were.

(Who was that guy supposed to be anyway...)

While Matthew was pondering about the scene they just assisted, she noticed Mordred was trembling while facing the ground.

"Mordred-san, is something the matter?" She tried to reach his shoulder with her hand, only to realize soon that he was actually trembling because he was holding back his laughter.

"Pfrr...That Shirou guy... pfrr...hahaha! He's such an idiot for trying to sneak up! Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"

(I can't believe you're the one saying that, Mordred-san.) Matthew facepalmed.

"Hahaha... Anyway, Mahsu-chan. There's only two classes left to visit!"

"Ah, that's right. Enkidu-sensei mentioned the Lancer class or something."

"Ah, ya want to start with the Lancer class? Aye! Let's go!"

* * *

 **Lancer class**

* * *

Time had passed by really quickly for Matthew, but when she checked her watch she saw it was already past 10 p.m. At this rate, they might completely miss morning classes. However, Mordred said there were only two classes left so they decided not to lose time and to immediatly head to the next building.

At this point, Matthew had expected Mordred to take her to one of the buldings that could still be seen. Yet, instead of that Mordred led her very far from their original position; they passed in front the Berserker Building and the Saber building a second time to go behind the furthest building Matthew could see. Eventually, they arrived in a place Matthew hadn't expected to see in on school ground: the area around them started to fill with trees and eventually they were walking inside a genuine forest!

"Wow, that's incredible. I had no idea the school grounds extended up to the mountain!"

"I heard that when they built the school, there were still trees everywhere!"

"I see..."

That would explain it. After doing a bit of research on Seihai High, Matthew learned that the school was built before this area of the city was even inhabited; in fact, there used to be dormitories but Matthew didn't see any during the visit. They were probably renovated or demolished once people started to live nearby and that a train line was built.

Because of this, Matthew had expected to see a lot of old buildings when she arrived earlier this morning and she had been surprised to see they were all brand news. She didn't put too much though into it though; they were probably all renovated. Or was another power of the super-janitor?

Yet, she discovered one of those ancient buildings in the middle of the forest Mordred was guiding her into.

"Tada! This is the oldest building in the school!"

Mordred didn't need to tell Matthew for her to understand: when you think "old school building", you generally think of a big house made of red bricks or something with the same feeling. But the building in front of her was nothing like that. Instead, it looked like a house from the feudal era, or a shrine. With the chirping of the birds and the relaxing atmosphere of the forest, the shrine-like building had a serene feel to it.

"Ah, how beautiful! It must be awesome to study in a place like this!"

"Aye! The Lancer class has the best luck!"

Normally, Matthew would be utterly shocked to hear students would have to study in an old bulding lost in the forest. But in all honesty, compared to what she had seen so far it was anything but bad.

(The atmosphere here is so relaxing...)

Matthew decided to get closer to the old building and approached her hand of one of the beams supporting the porch.

"Wha- careful Mashu-chan! Ya can't damage an old building!"

"Haha, sorry, it's just that it was so pretty that I wanted to tou-" _-CRAAAAAAAAAAC!_

...

"..."

"..."

A chill ran down Matthew's spine. Worse, she felt like something horrible was crawling on her back. She heard a loud noise behind her. More precisely, she heard the noise of something breaking at the exact spot Matthew was touching the wooden beam.

"...Ah...aaaah..." She wanted to say 'There's no way', but the only thing that came out of her mouth was the cry of a rightened animal.

She didn't dare to turn her head around. Mordred was looking at her, his face just as frozen as hers, and he was sweating a lot. She didn't dare to turn her head around.

But she had to.

So she turned her head around shakily to look at the wooden beam she had touched with her hand. And she saw.

She didn't put that much strength in her hand. In fact, she didn't put any strength into her movement; she had just touched it lightly to feel the surface of the wood. Yet, when she turned her head around, Matthew saw the beam bent in two as though someone had punched in vigorously; it was completely unsteady and ready to break at the slightest shock. Matthew didn't understand why. Why did it break when she touched it?

She then looked at her hand, as if looking for an answer. And she found one: pieces of molded and rotten wood had stayed stuck on her hand, along with a lot of mold and mould. To complete the view, some small white worms emerged from the mire and started to go up Matthew's arm.

As soon as she understood what was in her hand, Matthew felt her arm become rigid and beads of sweat poured from her forehead.

But that wasn't the end of it: the ceiling of the porch had lost part of its support, and dust was now falling accompagnied by a disturbing grinding noise. Eventually though, it wasn't dust that fell on Matthew's head but a centipede.

At thsi moment, her body finally reacted.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" She jumped back while shaking her hand vigorously to take all of the mold and worms off. "I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry-I'msorry!"

She was now kneeling and bowing at the old building as if she was trying to calm an enraged deity. A cold sweet covered her entire body when she heard steps coming from inside toward the door of the shrine-like building. Unsurprisingly, it was Enkidu-sensei's figure which appeared from behind the old sliding door. Unexpectedly, his expression wasn't that of anger but of surprise.

"Ara, ara, I thought I had heard Mashu-san's voice outside the classroom. What is the matter?"

"Ah...aaah..." Matthew could only point at the wooden beam pitifully, waiting for her judgement.

For some reson, Enkidu-sensei wasn't surprised when he saw the broken beam; he only reacted with a "Oh" of understanding.

"Ah, you don't have to worry for this. Ahahaha, this building is old and needs some renovations, but aside from that it is quite a nice-"

 _CRAAAC! THUMP!_

He was interrupted by the beam finally breaking and falling on the ground, causing the ground to shake. But it didn't fall alone: a large part of the porch's ceiling collapsed due to having lost its support and a chunck of wood hit Mordred's head; the sliding door by which Enkidu-sensei had left teh room suddenly fell on the floor as though there wasn't anything supporting it from the start, and even the whole wall of the wooden structure collapsed at once with a loud thundering noise. The falling rubbles caused a cloud of dust to rise, and when it eventually disappeared, Matthew could see the inside of the classroom as well as the students. The latters were looking at them in shock, but that wasn't what struck Matthew first: they were all sitting on the ground like monks, without tables or even cushions, with their books open in front of them. The room they were sitting in was in just as bad astate as the outside, with deteriorated tatamis, falling signs and one of the students was trembling because she was surrounded by an army of insects.

Everyone was frozen.

Matthew's shaking worsened as she looked at the smiling Enkidu-sensei. He was smiling, yes, but this static smile was more scary than anything.

"Ahh...sorry..." Tears were starting to run down her cheeks.

But Enkidu-sensei remained calm, and turned around to walk back into the room.

"Don't worry, that's not a problem. This way, we'll be able to profit of thsi beautiful scenery while studying!"

Matthew admired his positivity. She felt extremely sad too.

"Anyway, I didn't have the time to present myself." He grabbed one of the chalk laying one his desk, and approached the blackboard; "My name's Enkidu. Nice to meet you all!"

Enkidu-sensei started to write his name on the blackboard; he tried, but the spot where the chalk was supposed to leave a white mark were crubling down like dry pain instead.

Enkidu-sensei froze again.

He was smiling.

But his arm which was holding the chalk was trembling, and the piece of chalk was crushed between his fingers. Finally, his smile faded away and his bit his lower lip while bending his body forward as though he was about to cry too.

"We always lose at the lottery...and we get this classroom...every...year...we have the worst luck...but it's alright...it's...not...that...bad..."

Nobody knew what to do. Everyone was still frozen or trembling with fear.

Mordred and Matthew looked at each other before nodding in a tacit agreement, and they did what they though to be the best in this situation: they walked back slowly, while being careful of not making any noise.

* * *

 **Caster class**

* * *

The room looked very much like a laboratory; for it was one. This classroom didn't have any normal chair or desk with students diligently bent over their notebooks. Here instead, the students were lined up along long plastic tables provided to use scientific material. Therefore it wasn't strange to see the boys and girls focused on handling beakers, test tubes and so on filled with colored liquids.

"And they're always making shady stuff with funny colors!" Mordred concluded his presentation. "What d'ya think, Mashu-chan?"

Matthew looked at the classroom from the other side of the security window, but no matter how much she observed the Caster students and classroom, the only thing that came to her mind was:

"That's...kind of underwhelming compared to everything so far..."

"...A-aye..." Mordred looked as though he wanted to object, but even he realized it was pointless.

In all honesty, the class and its ocuppant were as normal as can be. The only thing that could look out of place was the teacher who had big googly eyes; but at least he wasn't three meters tall nor invisible.

Matthew kept staring as though she was waiting or something weird to happen.

But nothing happened.

Matthew sighed, wondering why she was disappointed deep inside, and she and Mordred started to walk back in direction of the Saber building. As they did, she started to reflect on her day so far. Her conclusion was that she was doomed.

(Well, at least the Saber class is normal.)

"Aye! I can't wait to fight Otousama when we're back!" Mordred said as he was waving his metal bat around (this time it was covered on nails) cheerfully.

(Ah, right. We have him.)

Matthew sighed again. They said each time you sigh your luck is being sucked out as well, but it probably didn't matter anymore in Matthew's case.

"Well, I guess it's not that bad."

"Mh? What is, Mashu-chan?"

"Thanks to you, I understood something important today, Mordred-san." Matthew stretched her arms and looked at the sky with a serene smile. "You're not my biggest problem in this school."

"Aye?"

* * *

 **Saber class**

* * *

Fortunately, they managed to come back before lunch time. After greeting Artoria-sensei when they entered the classroom, Matthew headed to her seat and sat down with an expression of relief. Saying she was tiring was the understatement of the century: she felt as though she had fought for her life; because she did, somehow.

"...So, how was your visit?" Matthew heard Galahad's voice, and she realized she had forgotten about him.

"Ah, well it was a little -GALAHAD-SAN, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!?"

"...I failed."

* * *

 **The Chairman's Notes**

 **Mordred-kun**

 **Stats:**

 **Litterature** **: B+**

 **Math: A**

 **P. E: B**

 **Sciences: B**

 **Economics: D**

 **Skills:**

 ** _Instinct_ : Has a knack for finding trouble.**

 ** _Mana Burst_ : Bursting with energy that is.**

 ** _Battle Continuation_ : And stubborn with that. The worst combination.**

 ** _Charisma_ : Who is the most foolish: Mordred-kun or those ready to follow him?**

 **Overall:**

 **A surprisingly good student in most fields. However, I can't help but be worried for his future.**

 **P.S : I expected him to have Presence Concealment considering how many time he slipped in my school.**

* * *

 _ _Thank you for reading!__

 _ _Hi everyone, here is the first official chapter for Fate/Seihai High! I hope you apreciated Seihai High, its secrets(?) and its classrooms and that you had a good time. The first word that comes to my mind is 'Finally', you probably understand why.__

 _ _I also hope you like the Chairman's Notes; I plan on doing a different character with each chapter.__

 _ _I wonder, did you expect all the characters in this chapter to be portrayed this way?__

 _ _~Legends Storyteller__


	3. Let's Choose a Club!

_Ding~Dong_

The school's bell rang loudly, interrupting the teacher's speech and announcing the beginning of lunch time. All the students who had been listening and taking notes fervently let out a sigh of relief at once. Then, after everyone had bowed and the teacher was putting his books in his briefcase, the room was filled with cheerful chatters as students started to join their desks together and to open their bento luch.

Matthew stretched lazily and looked out the window. Today was a beautiful day! In fact, each days since she entered highschool were beautiful days!

"Kyrielite-san! You don't mind if we sit there?"

A few female classmates of Matthew's approached her desk with bento in their hands and friendly smiles on their face. Strictly speaking, Matthew hadn't made any friends yet, so the sudden proposition made her heart race.

"I-I don't mind at all! Rather, are you fine with this?"

"Of course!"

"It's already been several days since school started. We want to know more about you Kyrielite-san!"

The three girls were already sitting by Matthew and opening their lunch boxes. There was the short but energic Yuri-chan, the elegant ojou-sama-like Shina-san, and the simple but girly Rina-san. The four of them started eating and chatting about various things, enjoying their lunch as highschool girls.

"Wha, your lunch looks delicious!" Yuri-chan looked at Matthew's bento while drooling a little. "Who made it for you?"

"Err, I made it myself, haha..." Matthew could only scratch the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Wait, really?! Kyrielite-san knows how to cook?! I want some!" Yuri exclamated and tried to snatch some octopus-shaped sausage from Matthew's bento.

What prevented her from doing so was Risa-san's lightning fast karate chop.

"Ghwe!"

"Yuro-chan, it's bad to steal other people's lunch."

"Yes, if you want food so bad then you can pick from my bento. My butler is quiet the chief." Shina-san added with a dignified but proud look. Risa-san's karate chop flew once more.

"Ghwe!"

Ah, so even Shina-san makes this kind of noise.

"Shina-chan, we're not here to speak about your butler again. Didn't we agree we were here to engage conversation with Kyrielite-san?"

"Hahaha..." Once again, Matthew could only laugh shyly as two of her guests were lying half-dead on the table. "Thank you so much for eating lunch with me."

(Kyaaaaaaa! I'm so happy! I'm so happy I could seriously die here! That's it, that's the life of a true Highschool Girl! And then there'll be all kinds of fun activities, like the school festival! The sport festival! All kind of festivals! And then club life, the school's seven mysteries, the school trip! And then! And then!)

"My, Kyrielite-san, you sure look excited."

"Me? N-not at all! Hahaha..."

(Highschool girls, yeah! Everyday is fun, yeah!)

Then the conversation switched to a drama that aired the night before. Matthew hadn't seen it but she tried to join the conversation nonetheless. Ah, this is so much fun! But! She musn't forget about her lunch. Lunch break is short and she needs reserves for the rest of the day!

So, the four of them were eventually eating diligently, trying not to waste any food. They shared food and laughs happily.

Then, suddenly, Matthew felt as though there had been a small tremor.

"Huh?"

"Mh? What's the matter, Kyrielite-san?"

"Didn't the ground shake just now...?"

"Eh? Are you alright?! Do you want to go to the infirmary?!" Yuri-chan worried, but Matthew dismissed it with a smile.

"No, it must have been my imagination." And she resumed eating.

But shortly after, there was a few more shakings, but nobody in the classroom seemed to notice it. This simple fact was enough to worry Matthew, but then it worsened when she started hearing voices in her head.

 _Mashu-chan!_

It sounded like someone was calling her, but no matter how much she looked left and right nobody was looking at her. The three classmates sitting with her were still eating, seemingly not noticing the voice either.

(And, 'Mashu-chan'? Who calls me that way already?) Matthew was starting to have doubts about her sanity as she pondered.

 _Mashu-chan! Mashu-chan, come on!_

The voice started to be more insisting, like a broken record playing endlessly. Not only that, but the tremors didn't stop; now it was a continuous shaking like there really was a earthquake going on.

 _Mashu-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!_

All of sudden, the classroom was drapped in darkness. No, it was wrong to say 'all of sudden': there was something slowly approaching which was hiding the sunlight. And yet, Matthew was the only one one looked concerned.

It was coming.

It was coming for her...!

Matthew slowly turned her head toward the window, her whole body covered in cold sweat. There was an uneasy feeling rising from the bottom of her stomach, and she could do nothing to shake off the fear.

There it was, outside the window, staring at her with its giant eye. The giant head of a highschool boy with a blood ponytail and androgineous looks.

 _ **"Mashu-chan! Wake up or he's gonna find uuuuuuuuuuuuuus!"**_

"GHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

And then, everything was filled with light...

"Gah!" Matthew opened her eyes in panick, panting heavily and covered in sweat. "W-where am I?"

"Mashu-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!" When she looked around, the first thing Matthew saw was a bawling Mordred clutching to her sleve. "Thanks god ya woke uuuuuuuuup!"

"Ouch, my head. Hnng, Mordred-san, can you be a bit more quiet?"

Indeed, at the moment her head felt like someone was playing inside with a gong. In fact, it felt the same way outside of her head. That's when Matthew noticed that what she had mistaken for tremors were explosions.

"Buuuuuut! I was afraid ya might not wake up after you were hit by that swooooooooord!"

"...Sword?"

Matthew's headache grew stronger as she tried to understand what was going on. When she understood she had been woken up by Mordred, she had thought the latter somehow snuck inside her room to surprise her. Yet, there was explosions all around them and she what she was lying on was the hard ground.

Looking around she also noticed the place she had been sleeping in was a forest. At the moment, she and Mordred were hidden by bushes so she couldn't tell more.

"Where are we?" She asked the sobbing Mordred.

"Sniff...at school..." Mordred wipped his teary face with his arm and replied.

"At school? You mean we are near the Lancer class building?"

Matthew slowly rose up and brushed the dirt off her uniform. They had come here yersterday when Mordred had shown her around the school. If anything it was quite far from the Saber class Matthew and Mordred were part of.

"Mordred-san, what are we doing here? And why is it exploding everywhere?"

"Sniff...heh? You don't remember, Mashu-chan?!"

(If I'm asking then obviously I don't know, you baka. Wait, it's something I should know? Hnng, my head...)

Maybe she shuld have played the part because Mordred's eyes filled with tears once again and he could only stammer the answer.

"Sniff...the P. E teacher!...Sniff...and then there was a sword flying at us...Sniff...and then!...And then!..."

"M-Mordred-san calm down. You make me feel like I'm bullying you, so please calm down!"

"Whaaaaa...! I thought Mashu-chan was dead! I thought ya wouldn't wake up!"

"Wait, I guess I should feel thankful you worried about me...but weren't you the one who used me as a shield several times!?"

"But...Sniff...but ya weren't opening your eyes!"

"That's because I was sleeping! Anyway, please stop crying you're making me feel horrible!"

Even Matthew couldn't seem to comfort the chil-like Mordred, so the only thing she had learn was that their current situation had something to do with the P.E teacher and a flying sword. Actually, now that he mentioned it they were both in their P.E clothes, which explained Matthew had been a bit cold.

(The P.E teacher? That's strange, no matter how much I try I can't seem to remember their face... Did I ever meet them?)

Matthew started scratching her head in frustration. Why couldn't she remember anything?! And the explosions as well as the ' _Arash-kuuuuuuuuuuuun!_ ' resounding in the background didn't help at all.

(Hnng, explosions... where is it that I hear explosions recently?...)

For some reason, something was coming to Matthew. She had the crushing feeling she wasn't going to like what she was about to remember -not that it was new to her. She rarely if ever liked what she's discovered lately. In fact, it was scary just how calm she was in this situation. Did that man she was becoming a freak as well. No, anything but that!

"I've had enough! I'm going back to sleep!" She eventually decided as she resumed lying on the grassy floor to join the world of dreams once again.

"Huh...? No, Mashu-chan don't! Don't die!"

"I'm not dead, kono baka! Ah, Yuri-chan, Risa-san, wait for me~."

"M-Mashu-chan...!"

"Hehe, hehehe, stop that Yuri-chan it tickles..."

"He's found us Mashu-chan!"

Matthew wasn't listening anymore. Even so, she coud feel it: the sky above them darkened, a violent wind blew away the leaves lying around them (and some of them were stuffed in the mouth of the half-asleep Matthew) and she could hear the sound of something floating above them.

And then she...knew.

Matthew remebered and everything that happened during the morning flashed all at once in her head. And with that, all of her sleepiness was dissipated. Matthew suddenly opene her eyes wide and gasped in horror.

(He's right, we can't stay here! The P.E teacher-!)

Before she could even finish thinking, a voice reached their ears from the golden aircraft flying above their heads:

"I see mongrels who aren't running over there!"

Immediatly, several weapons shot from the strange golden floating rounds and came flying toward them. At the exact same moment and without any further hesitation, Matthew jumped out of the bushes they had been hiding in, closely followed by Mordred. The place where they had been crouching just a second ago was smashed to pieces by the projectiles.

"The P.E teacher is crazy!"

That's right.

This morning they had all gathered in the school's sports court for P.E. There had been nothing wrong up until that point, except that Mordred took an awful lot of time changing, and as a result the group was late. Matthew had thought: ' _Ah, maybe nothing weird will happen this time_ '. You foolish girl! Haven't you leanred from your mistakes already?! Of course something weird would happen! In fact, it was weird from the beginning: Gilgamesh-sensei didn't look particularly muscular contrary to what you would expect from a P.E teacher. Aren't sport teachers supposed to giant, ridiculously buffed men? No it's not a cliché!

But if it had been only that, Matthew wouldn't qualify it as strange. Everything was going normally for a sport class. They started to run normally, and even Mordred followed the rules and didn't try to assault the teacher. No one was doing anything suspicious. No one except the teacher.

At some point Gilgamesh-sensei had summoned a giant golden aircraft and had started to bombard them to make them run faster. Like hell a teacher is supposed to do that! Wasn't the point of physical education to improve the students' health? How does that correlate with air strikes?!

Fortunately the Saber class and the Archer class were having P.E at the smae time so there was more targets and they were able to split up. But! In the end there was just more projectiles than students and they just about ran in every direction to avoid death from above. Part of the Saber class, including Matthew and Mordred, had decided to hide in the wood not far from the Lancer class building.

"Hahaha! Run, mongrels, run!"

And the result was this. As Mordred said, Matthew must have been hit and lost consciousness.

(Though, to be hit by a sword like that and only losing consciousness, am I really that sturdy? Really?!)

She didn't really want to try and make sure though. At any rate, Gilgamesh-sensei was focusing on them now and they had no choice but to run for their life.

"...So you two were here."

"Wha, Galahad-san! You survived!"

During their race against the rain of death, the two of them met with Galahad who had apparently been looking for them.

"Galahad-san, are you okay?"

"...Yeah."

"O-okay."

"...Rather, I'm surprised you're okay even though you're with Mordred-kun."

"Ya can go die!"

"It's not the time to fight, you two!" Matthew shouted desperately, but the two morons started to bicker while dashing between the trees.

They couldn't keep on eternaly. Gilgamesh-sensei was very clearly toying with them, but Matthew was afraid of what would happen if he ever got bored. Dodging the weapons flying at them all while running in a straight line inside a forest was already hard enough, but with Mordred and Galahad quarelling as well it was insanely hard!

"Stop it, you two! We have to make him stop somehow!"

"...You're right." Galahad agreed. "...Any more than this could threaten the class activity."

"Isn't it threatened enough already?! And, is that really what you're worried about?!"

"...I have to convince him to stop." As he said this, Galahad stopped running and spun around to face the airborn Gilgamesh-san assaulting them. "You two go on ahead."

"Wait, what are planning to do Galahad-san?!"

"I'll probably only have one second to convince him."

"Wait, don't!"

But instead of listening to Matthew, Galahad took a few step in direction of Gilgamesh-sensei and cleared his throat to speak.

"Sensei! I ask you to stop your actions immediatly in the name of-" _BOOOOOOOM!_

But the rain of projectiles swallowed him before he could even finish his sentence.

"Galahad-saaaaaaaan!"

"Haha, serves ya right, baka!"

Matthew and Mordred were once again alone, and Gilgamesh-sensei didn't seem to want to leave them alone.

"Hahahaha! Entertain me more, mongrels! Run and crawl like the dogs you are! Hahahaha!"

Up in the air, Gilgamesh-sensei was watching the scene while holding his stomach. He hadn't even realized he had shred Galahad into pieces; he was simply enjoying the sight of the students running for their life. By the way, these teaching methods were aproved by the chairman.

However, the P.E teacher was so engrossed in teaching his students that he hadn't realized someone else had boarded his Vimana.

"Hahaha! You should be able to run much faster than this, mongrels!"

"My, my, looks like Gilgamesh-kun is having fun."

"Huh?! Who is...! Ah...E-Enkidu!"

Indeed, the figure standing on the deck of the flying vessel was the long-haired Enkidu-san. He was looking straight into Gilgamesh's eyes. The wide smile on his face was the same as usual: a calm and gentle smile that would reassure those looking at him. Yet, Gilgmaesh, who was looking at that very smile, felt all the dispair the world had to offer, when Enkidu opened his eyelids.

Those eyes were saturated with a crushing sense of rejection.

The man wearing a warm smile on his face was surrounded by a cold murderous aura and he slowly walked up to Gilgamesh who was paralyzed by fear.

"M-mate, Enkidu! I-I'm just teaching my students like a teacher shoul-Agh!"

Gilgamesh tried to plea but his sentence was interrupted by Enkidu's hand which strongly gripped his jaw and lifted him off his throne.

"Just teaching your students? Mufufufu." The Lancer class homeroom teacher laughed, but there as no compassion in this cold-hearted laugh. "My, if it is only that then it's alright."

"H-haha, right? Righ-Agh!" Enkidu's grip got stronger.

"But did you know?" Enkidu whispered in Gilgamesh's ear. "You're also destroying what is left of my classroom?"

"W-wait, I'm sorry! I'm sorr- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

And thus, P.E mysteriously ended for some reasons.

* * *

 **Chapter II: Let's Choose a Club!**

* * *

"A club?" Mordred repeated, seemingly surprised.

"That's right. I mean, isn't it normal for students to join a club?"

War was finished, and Matthew and the rest of the survivor were gathered in the school gym, taking care of their injuries thanks to first aid kits some students had volunteered to bring. As for those who couldn't make it past the P.E class, they had fallen in the hands of the school nurse. Thus, their fate was uncertain.

(I hope Galahad-san is okay. I'll never forget the state he was in yersterday...)

Actually, even this group of veterans were hiding and they could hear a nursing monster roaming around and searching for new victims. The mere thought of it sent shivers down Matthew's spine, and so she decided to change the subject. While wrapping Mordred's arm with bandages, she asked the latter what kind of clubs there were in Seihai High.

"What kind of clubs? Hmm, hmmmmmmm...Ah! There's a cooking club! Hehehe...cooking..."

"Oi, Mordred-san, stop drooling it makes you look even more like a child." Matthew sighed. "Cooking you say? I don't know. I was in a cooking club during middle school so I thought I would try something new."

"Hmm, there's a drama club, a fishing club, a litterature club, an astronomy club, a baseball club, a...hmmm..." Mordred looked like he was thinking hard to remember the name of the clubs from the bottom of his mind.

"I get it, I get it. You don't have to fry your brain over this..."

"What kind of club does Mashu-chan want to join?"

"Hm, I'm not sure yet. I said I wanted to try something new but I didn't really have something in mind." Matthew looked at the clouds outside the gym while stroking her invisible beard. "Maybe something athletic? Saying that doesn't really help, right?"

Matthew ended her train of thought with a sigh and let her invisible beard scatter in nothingness. Then, something she had heard the day before came back to her as she wondered where to start.

"Say Mordred-san."

"Aye?"

"Didn't you say each class had a prefered club? You said something like most of the Archer class students are part of the archery club."

"Aye!"

"What club do the Saber class usually join?"

"Aye, it's the kendo club!"

"As I expected..." Matthew, who was finally done treating Mordred's wounds, stood up and stretched. "But maybe it'll be a good start!"

"Aye aye!"

"Can Mordred-san show me around after?"

"Aye! I'll do anything for my bro-Ouch! Mashu-chan it hurts!"

And thus they returned in class with the survivors of the Saber class. When they arrived they found all those who had been reported missing waiting calmly on their seat. When Matthew sat next to Galahad she could see all his wounds had disapeared as if by magic. Yet, when she looked in his eyes she found them even more lifeless than usual, and he was looking down at his desk.

"G...Galahad-san, are you okay?"

"...No."

That point aside, the following classes went well: that is to say, normally without interruption. It was amazing how Matthew's definition of a good day had changed in just two days; more scary than amazing actually. By the way, you must be thinking Matthew was being naive not to think there'd only be weird club in this weird school. However, that wasn't the case! Actually, she had already heard of Seihai High's clubs participating in national clubs competions. In other word, if they had no normal clubs they wouldn't be able to compete!

That's why, Matthew was pretty confident this time.

(I guess there are some traditions everyone respects.)

Matthew sighed due to the weariness of a long day (and a morning of running for her life).

(Now that I notice it, I really am sighing a lot lately, am I not? Is that why I have no good luck? Dammit Matthew, be more composed or you'll be unlucky for the rest of your highschool girl's life!)

Currently it was the last class of the day, with Artoria-sensei. Right after this, Mordred was supposed to show her what the kendo club looked like. Because of that there was some sort of tension in her stomach. She was worried at the idea of trying out new clubs she wasn't used to. Up until now, the only club she had ever joined was the cooking club, a more practical club.

(And thanks to this I'm now a top grade housewife!)

Yet she never thought of joining a more physical club. That was mostly due to the fact that she wasn't a very athletic girl in general. She couldn't do thing like dodge projectile while running or fight barehanded against a wooden sword. Wait...

(I absolutely cannot do things like that. Like, absolutely not. Just look at this frail and girly Matthew. Like she could do stuff like jumping on a train's roof!)

The very idea of it was ridiculous. That point aside, this physically unfit Matthew was about to try out kendo. Moreover, there was some excitement mixed into it. After all, it was an occasion to make up for her past mistakes and make actual friends! Isn't that the dream of any highschool student?

(That's right! I must stop looking down at my desk in fear! I must raise my head...!)

Matthew did so and she looked at the classroom scene in front of her.

(...And stop Mordred-san immediatly!)

Indeed after raising her head, what she saw was Mordred sneakily pulling a different baseball bat than yersterday, ready to begin round 2 against Artoria-sensei. The latter hadn't noticed Mordred's treacherous action and was passing between the desks. Mordred was probably waiting for him to pass next to his desk.

Before that happened, Matthew had to prevent it!

Unfortunately, she had been a second too late in grabbing Mordred's bat, and all she could do as she saw her idiot class neighboor dash toward Artoria-sensei was that the baseball bat was already partially covered in blood.

(What did you it for! No, wait, I should be stopping him!)

She was in a bad position to do so though. If she tried to jump at him she'd be hindered by her own desk. Not all hope was lost however, as Galahad had also noticed Mordred's intention, and immediatly stood between the stricker and his target.

(Nice going, Galahad-san!)

"...Mordred-kun, be reasonnable and don't interfere with class any further-" _BONK!_

"Yer in the way, you baka!" But the class rep was swiftly swept aside by Mordred and was left lying in his blood on the floor.

(Your wish to negociate is too pure for thsi cruel world, Galahad-san!) Matthew sobbed in her mind.

Galahad's noble sacrifice wasn't in vain though, as it allowed Artoria-sensei to realize what was goin on. As soon as Mordred swung his bat for the second time, the teacher splendidly dodged it and took out his faithful ruler.

Mordred was swept along with his own momentum, and was forced to jump on late Galahad's desk to get a good attack angle. But it would have been too optimistic of him to think Artoria-sensei wouldn't have taken advantage of this short gap in his attacks. The redoutable ruler slashed the air at a hair's distance of Mordred's face, and the latter lost his balance and fell off the desk on top of Galahad.

"...Hmph!"

It was all over. Mordred tried to raise his baseball bat but it stuck itself between the chair and the desk of his first victim.

"You really don't learn, do you. " Artoria-sensei, without a hint of mercy on his face, approached the defeated Mordred with his ruler in hand. "As a teacher, I should send you to the chairman's office for disrupting my class."

(Is that really what you want to punish him for?)

"However, that will not do." The hand holding the ruler, trembling with anger and annoyance, slowly rose above Artoria-sensei's head. "As a father, I have to give you a good correction!"

* * *

"I swear, why does Mordred-san always attack Artoria-sensei? Do you have a grudge or something?"

Incidentally, Matthew had to do more emergency first aid. Surprisingly, she had become a master of first aids within the span of a day. This time however not only did she have to wrap Mordred in more bandages like a mummy, but she also had to take care of Galahad. After all, she didn't have the heart to send him back to the infirmary. Anyway, she was almost out of plasters.

"...That's because he's an idiot."

"Shut up, ya baka! I have to defeat him in front of everyone to prove I'm worthy!"

"Worthy of what?"

"...Probably something stupid."

"That's not stupid at all! Galahad no baka!"

"...Then what is it?"

"...To prove I'm worthyyyyyyyyyyyy!" Mordred cried. Then he grabbed Galahad by his collar. "That's yer fault if I failed this time!"

"...Ho, care to repeat this?" Galahad immitated him and grabbed Mordred by his collar. By now the two were glarring at each other (as much as Galhad's expressionlessness allowed him to glare). "...You're the one at fault for disrupting classes once more. Though I guess you did become smarter if you've stopped chargin at Artoria-san like a baka."

"He? What are ya trying to say, baka?!"

"...That you are the baka."

And they were fighting again. That was probably normal for boys their age, Matthew thought. Though, it wouldn't do at all. They were both dangerously wounded and on the verge of dying. Especially Mordred-san. Or maybe they were fine since they're able to move around like that. Matthew wouldn't know: her knowledge was limited to first aid for now. Anyway, they were also supposed to be touring clubs right now, yet if she allowed these two baka to continue their bickering, they would never get started.

That's why, she decided to put an end to it herself thanks to her old technic.

(Okay here goes.)

Matthew approached Mordred and Galahad who were too busy being at each other's throat to notice her, and put both her hands on their shoulder.

"Eh, what is it, Mahsu-ch-Ouchouchouch!"

Then, she gripped them as hard as she could, and she stared them down like during her duel against the hypogriff. Then, with her 'cutest' voice:

"Oi, you two stop fighting or I'll kill ya fuckers."

Yep, if two dogs are barking, you need to bark louder than them~!

This is the always efficient Matthew-cehn special technique: intimidation! Maybe it worked a little too wel though: Galahad put his hand on his mouth and looked in another direction, and Mordred was crying like he was being bullying.

""W-we're sorry.""

(Hey, you don't need to act like this. I only got a little angry. I mean, I should, right?)

After this, Matthew needed another ten minutes to stop Mordred from crying. Anyway, they were eventually done with this pointless inconvenience, and Matthew and Mordred could go now!

"Aye, sorry Mashu-chan, but I can't."

Was what Matthew thought.

"Come again? Mordred-san, you told me you'd do it!"

"Hehe, gomen Mashu-chan but I forgot I have club activity myself."

"Eh, Mordred-san is already in a club?"

That was surprising. Usually it would take at least a few weeks before someone decided which club to join, if any at all. For Matthew it had been even longer during middleschool considering she only joined a club during the last year. He only reason one might join a certain club immediatly was if they were part of a similar club during middleschool.

"Is that Mordred-san's case?"

"No, I was scouted!"

"Scouted?"

"Aye! I'm incradi-...incredibe-...awesome!" Mordred stuck out his chest in pride. "Anyway, I have t'go! This baka will replace the increbla- awesome me!" He concluded, and pointed at Galahad.

"...Since I happen to belong to the kendo club."

"Eh, Galahad-san has chosen a club too..."

"...Actually, I think you're one of the few who haven't."

"No way! How can that be! I have to quickly choose a club if I don't want to be left behind!"

"...There are also those who prefer not to join a club."

"That's not an option! I can never become a perfect highschool girl if I'm part of the go home club! I mean, aren't clubs an important part of the highschool experience?"

Ah, she was becoming emotional again. At any rate, it seemed like it couldn't be helped; Galahad would have to be Matthew's guide. However, Matthew was surprised that this airheaded Mordred-san would be so adament on participating in club activities. No, that was actually the right thing to do, but she had envisioned him as the kin dof person who'd skip classes to do delinquent things. That made her curious as to just what club that Mordred had joined.

But when she asked him, Mordred held his chin in his hand and tried to take an intelligent look.

"That's a secret."

"If that's a secret then don't look like it's important!"

"Ouch, Mashu-chan that hurts!"

"Whatever! Galahad-san, it's getting late so let's go."

"...Okay."

And thus, the two of them parted with Mordred who stuck his tongue out while he left.

The kendo club was apparently one of the clubs with the mostmembers in the whole school. As such, it had been given a larger club room than the other clubs. Actually, calling it a club room would be wrong since they had a whole dojo to themselves. When Galahad brought Matthew in front of the imposing structure, she couldn't help but be impressed. From the inside they could hear kendo swords clashing against each other; the other members of the club were already in the middle of their activities.

Now that she was here, the tension tightened Matthew's chest.

"...Let's go inside."

"Ah, y-yeah."

Galahad non-chalently walked in, and Matthew followed right behind him. No point in hesitating after she's come this far. When they arrived in the room where the students were training, despite her apprehension Matthew didn't show hesitation. And there she saw...

Something completely different than she had expected.

There were students, as well as kendo swords. But she had thought she'd find them in the middle of training. Yet, when she walked inthe practive area, she found the students lined up against the wall, completely exhausted withe their swords broken.

There were only two people standing, who were the one practicing. The first person was a girl from Matthew's class (in fact she did recognize several people among those sitting). And the other one was none other than Artoria-sensei.

(Oh, so she's their sponsor.)

That made sense. Since the kendo club was essentially made of Saber class students, and considering her skill with the ruler, it wasn't a surprise for her to be in charge of the club. However, something just felt plain wrong here. In the first place, why was Artoria-sensei teaching one student at a time? Shouldn't they all be practicing, making swing with sword and such?

Oh. No.

Matthew understood all too late, when the teacher caught sight of her. Once Artoria-sensei marked her as his target, there was no more escaping.

"Oh? Kyrielite-san what a surprise. What are you doing here?"

"...She's here to watch us practice, sensei." Galahad tries to cover for her but it's no use.

The girl who had just been practicing with sensei, having finally escaped his notice, cast them a fearful look and hurried to the wall where the other were lying. Matthew wished she could do just that.

She could see it: all of those students weren't resting because they were waiting for their turn; they simply couldn't move anymore! All of them were covered in bruises from head to toe!

"Ara, would you happen to be interested in joining?"

"W-well, hmm...hehe..."

"If that's the case, then it won't do to just watch. Why don't you try to practice with me?"

"H...how should I say...wha-what kind of exercise do you do here?" Matthew asked although she already had an idea of the answer.

"Ah, that's right. I guess you wouldn't know if you're here to watch."

Artoria-sensei put on a reassuring smile probably meant to make her feel at ease. Yet, all Matthew got from that smile was an impeding feeling of disaster. Or maybe it was because of the depressed expression the other members of the kendo club were wearing.

"I believe that while usual practice is important, nothing will make you progress better than learning from your mistakes."

"T-that sounds wise. But what do you mean by 'learning from your mistakes'?"

"Very simple."

By now, Artoria-sensei was right in front of Matthew, resting his hands on his sword like a general and his presence was overbearing. The girl he had previously been sparring with started sobbing while holding her knees. As for Matthew, she had already taken a few steps backward. But that was no use.

"First hand experience."

(So you just beat them up! You failure of a teacher!)

She had heard of students ganging up on teachers before, but never of a teacher wiping the floor with their students. Especially in a club! And wasn't he taking it a little too seriously?! Matthew understood more than anyone the importance of club activity, but what do you mean 'first hand experience'?! That's authority abuse!

Matthew was next on the list. Artoria-sensei's aura clearly indicated he wouldn't let her go without some 'practice' first. And she had no allies here; no one who could save her.

No one except...

(Galahad-san!) Matthe cast and imploring glance at the student council president who was witnessing the scene.

In front of such despair, Galahad simply sighed and resigned himself.

"...I'm getting used to this."

* * *

" _Pant_ , _pant_...I think I've finally lost him." Matthew noticed when she looked over her shoulder.

Right she was hiding in the bushes again, this time fleeing from her hmeroom teacher. Shehadn't escaped unscathed though: she had taken a couple bad hits. But she was still better off than Galahad.

" _Sob_...Galahad-san, your sacrifice will never be forgotten... _sob_..."

If not for his heroic stand against Artoria-sensei to buy Matthew some time, the latter could never had escaped the terrible swordman. Now that she had suceeded and had escaped with her life, there was still a bitter taste in Matthew's mouth because of this loss.

"I won't let your death be in vain. I will find the right club for me, even if I must die!"

With this newfound determination, Matthew came out of her hidding place and walked around a little to see where her race against death had led her. The school grounds' forest wasn't limited to the Lancer class building. It was actually so huge Matthew managed to get lost almost immediatly. Eventually, she found some school buildings at last, though these didn't look like the Saber class building. Matthew recgnized these from her visit with Mordred.

"Ah, those are buildings reserved for club activities."

Speak about the devil, it was exactly those she was looking for. She had decided not to let her mistake with the kendo club get her down, and to keep her valiant quest on no matter the cost. There was no guessing which club was in which building, so she'd have to go in to inspect.

"Oh well, I was planning on visiting most of them anyway. I wonder what the other clubs look like."

After all, the reason why the kendo club was a big no was because of Artoria-sensei's policy. If you excluded the teacher, it looked like a normal club. Matthew decided to start with the first building on her right and walked in, ready to face her destiny. Once inside, she was disappointed by the lack of indication as to which room belonged to which club. As a result, she was to try and pick a classroom randomely without knowing what to expect.

While doing so, she noticed there were a lot of unused rooms in this building. It must have been a reserve building in case new clubs appeared. Though seriously, there was a heavy silence reigning in this building.

"Did I actually choose the one building that is empty? What's with my luck today..." No, what was with her luck recently.

Fortunately, when she reached the third floor, there was a couple classroom with a sign hanging from the door with the club names written on it.

"Oh, the astronomy club. Mordred-san mentioned it this morning, didn't he? Hmm, I was looking for a more physical club, but thinking about it, isn't studying stars really romantic?! That's bonus points!"

Thus, Matthew knocked lightly on the astrology room's door. Immediatly, she heard a girl's voice from the other side and someone's footsetps approached the door. The one who was now standing in the door frame was a small girl with purple hair who looked hardly older than Matthew, if not younger. It took Matthew a moment to realize she was wearing the school's uniform and wasn't a middle schooler.

"Hi, what is it?" The mysterious girl asked.

"H-hello. Hmm, is that the astornomy club?" Matthew decided to reply out of politeness.

Somehow guessing why she had come here, the girl's face illuminated and she grabbed Matthew's arm to pull her inside.

"Aye, aye! I am the club captain, Helena Blavatsky! But you can call me Helena-chan!"

"Nice to meet you Helena-chan. H-hey don't pull so hard!"

As expected from the astronomy club, their club room was filled with all kind of strange instruments to measure stuff. There were also tons of ominous-looking books scattered everywhere. Seeing this undescribable mess, Matthew's housewife sense were tingling, and she felt an urge to clean up.

"Hey, Helena-chan, you don't mind if I clean a bit? I can't bear seeing this unorganized room!"

"T-that hurts a bit,...hm, what is your name actually?"

"Ah, that's right I didn't present my self, sorry!"

"It's alright! But you're interested in the astrology club, right? It won't do if I don't your name."

"Right. Hrm." Matthew cleared her throat before bowing respectfully. "I am Matthew Kyrielite, nice to meet you."

"Matthew? Mashu? Oh, you're that delinquent who likes to swim in the river!"

"No I'm not! I'm not that kind of girl!"

"Eh? But the rumors-"

"Please believe me over some stupid rumors!"

"If you so..." or some reason, Helena looked a bit disappointed.

Matthew felt like crying; she'd have to get rid of this bad reputation Mordred had managed to spread around. Anyway, she decided to let it slide for now and to get started for some intense cleaning. Whe she started to piler the books together, she noticed many f them had little to nothing to do with astronomy. Some of them seemed to be written in some kind of elvish which Matthew couldn't understand, and other were full of creepy circles and symbols. Anyway, it didn't matter: it wouldn't get in the way of cleaning.

"Though, Helena-chan, are you sure all of this has something to do with astrology?"

"All of what?"

"Those creepy books. I mean, I know astrology is a little mystic, but..."

"Ah, don't worry these have nothing to do with club activity."

"Wait, really?! Why are they here then?"

"It's stuff I've written along with the other members during the past couple years. I just store them here because it'd to much time to transport somewhere else."

"I see, so that's why. Wait, the past couple year?! Helena-chan, in which year are you?!"

"Me? I'm a third year already~."

(Impossible! With a tiny body like this?! No, there's just no way; even I mistook her for a middleschooler at first! Wait that means she's my senior right?)

"Hey, I can guess what you're thinking!"

"S-sumanai, Helena-senpai!"

"No, just call me Helena-chan. Everyone calls me that anyway so I'm used to it!"

"If...if you say so. Hrm, say Helan-senp...Helena-chan, what are these books about about?"

"It's about aliens!"

"...Aliens?"

"Yeah! You know, stars are interesting and all, but what's even more interesting are people who live there!"

"..."

(Oh, so that's what this club is all about in the end, huh. Well, I guess that's fine, as long as they don't do dangerous stuff. Though, I didn't know a highschool studnets could still have a childish passion like aliens. Mufufu.)

"Oi, I can guess what you're thinking again!"

"S-sumanai, Helena-chan!"

"Oh well, I'm used to it. Anyway, thank you for cleaning up, you're a huge help. The other members aren't very good at it."

"...! Speaking of the other members, where are they? Shouldn't they be here as well?"

"They are here! They're just a little shy; hey, you guys come and help Mashu-san too!"

Matthew hadn't even noticed there were other people in the room. She had thought she and Helena-chan were alone. But as soon as the astrology club captain called out to them, Matthew indeed heard two persons move around without a word as she was bent over trying to grab some book. Although they didn't speak much, they were quick on their feet and were gathering the books at Matthews feet.

"Thank you, you're a great help everyone! Ah-!" As Matthew said that, one of the books piled up in her arms fell off; "Ow, sorry;"

She tried to pick it up, but with all the books she was holding she had trouble simply crouching down, let alone reach it without making the pile fall. But it was all for nothing since one of the club members hurried to Matthew and picked up the book for her.

"My, thank you. I don't know how I would have-..."

"..."

"..."

Then, for the first time, Matthew looked at the club member. She had been so focused on cleaning that she hadn't bothered to see what they looked like. After all, the only thing that mattered wasthat they were helping. But now that she got a clear view of them, she was dumbfounded.

"Ah...aaa..." Matthew could only stare open-mouthed

That was because, standing in front of Matthew and trying to hand over a book, was a little green creature.

"...Ahhhhhhh..."

It wasn't big, only as tall as Matthew's waist. It was quite small with thin limbs and a strangely large head with big black eye looking straight at Matthew. Then, she turned her head around slowly like a badly oiled door, and looked at the third club member. They looked exactly the same except they were grey instead of green. Finally, Matthew turned around and looked at Helena-chan while pointed toward the little green man.

"...Ah...haaa?..."

"Oh, sorry, I haven't made the presentations yet! These are the members of the astrology club: Green-kun and Grey-kun!"

"..."

When she looked back at the green creature, Matthewsaw the latter raise their little hand and approach Matthew's with it. Then, Matthew's index and the creature's index connected, forming an eternal bond between two species from different world.

"...THEY'RE ALIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENSS?!"

""...!""

"Ah, Mashu-san don't scream, you're going to scare them!"

It was too late: as Matthew was busy recovering from the shock of intercultural meeting, Green-kun and Grey-kun were taken by surprise by her reaction and started running around everywhere in a panick and knocking random stuff down.

 _CRACK!_

 _WHOOP!_

 _THUMP!_

Then, before either Matthew or Helena-chan had the time to intervene, the two aliens initiated an emergency escape, and jumped off the window.

"Wait! Green-kun! Grey-kun! It was nothing, you don't have to be afraid!"

"H-Helena-senpai!"

"It's Helena-chan!"

"Whatever! T-these were aliens, right?!"

"Of course: they're my friends!"

"Friiiieeeenddds! H-how is it possible to have aliens as club members?! Do the school know about this?!"

"Eh? O-of course! It's not like I'm letting them in secretly and am borrowing this room behind the chairman's back! Absolutely not!"

"I knew it!" But Matthew's antics were interrupted by a noise coming from outside. "Ah...-!"

She had a bad feeling. It was such a weird noise, it couldn't possibly be a good news. If anything, this noise and the humming which accompagnied it spelled doom. Then, suddenly, something rose in the air outside the window. Something huge and incredible, with many lights flashing and blinking. However, once it had stabilized, Matthew could finally get a good shot as to what exactly was outside, although she had a good guess already: and it was, indeed, a UFO.

"W-whaaaaaaaa?! How could I have not seen it before?!"

"Geez, you two! No need to run away like this!"

It looked like Green-kun and Grey-kun were really panicked to blow up their cover like this. But that wasn't the worse: the next moment, the club room was filled with an intense yellow light, and Matthew felt her body beong attracted toward the window. It wasn't only her though: Helena-chan and everything that was lying around (namely, Matthew's effort at cleaning up) were being pulled forward by the tractor beam.

Consequently, Matthew and Helena were now holding as firmly as they could to the window's frame in order to resist their kidnapping. It was getting harder and harder though. It seemed the aliens didn't want to abandon Helena-chan into the scary Matthew's hands, so they were trying their hardest to bring her in. But since the person concerned was resisting, Matthew had become a collateral victim.

"Helan-chan, it's clearly you that they want! Why are you resisting?!"

"But~! I don't wanna. Everytime this happen they just drop me on top of a building and I get lonely up there. It's no fun since the other human member left." Helna sighed, seemingly not alarmed by the situation.

"That's tough... I mean, what the hell?!"

"I know! If Matthew join the club then I won't have to be alone!"

"Refused! R-E-F-U-S-E-D! I don't want to be dumped on top of a building! I can't believe you've survived up until now!"

"Buh~."

"Don't pout! I should be the one who's mad, right?"

Anyway, Matthew wouldn't be to hold on much longer. Or rather, the window's frame wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. There were already cracks running on the wall, and at any moment Matthew would be pulled toward the unfathomable. Which did happen eventually: the window they had been holding to borke in pieces and the two highschool students were pulled in the air.

"Well, I guess I tried at least. Later, Mashu-san!"

"Huh? Huh?!"

Helena was the first one to enter the UFO. In a matter of second, Matthew would be joining her and they'd be starving at the top of a skyscrapper evetually. Which is why, Matthew didn't understand what Helena-chan meant. And then, she understood.

When the beam suddenly disappeared while Matthew was still up in the air.

"Huh? HAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

And fell toward certain death.

"DON'T DROP ME SO SUDDENLY! IF YOU'RE GOING TO KIDNAP IT THEN DO IT PROPERLY YOU HALF-ASSED ALIENS!"

It was the end. Matthew was in the middle of nowhere and way to far from teh building she had been in a few minutes ago. The UFO was already gone at the speed of light, and there was nothing she could grab to slow down her fall.

(Ha! There!)

But she regained hope when she saw a tree down on the ground, in the direzction in which she was falling.

(Yosh! It won't slow the fall much but I should be able to survive!)

All she had to do was aiming for the tree correctly.

A little further to the right...

No, a bit more to the left...

Damn, she didn't know what her right and her left were anymore! But in any case, she succeeded and was now falling straight toward the tree!

Is what she thought.

"...Wha...!"

But then, when she was about to hit the tree...

Said tree _looked up_ to see Matthew falling. You heard right: the tree bent its...log as if to look at Matthew. And then it _opened its mouth_.

"Wh-wait! Mate, mate! B-break, STOP-" _CHOMP._

And the tree swallowed Matthew.

* * *

"Must...run...tree will get me...urghh..."

Matthew's head hurt atrociously, even more than during P.E. Her whole body felt like she had fallen from very, very high. Come to think of it, she did fall from very, very high!

(Ow ow ow...I didn't sprain my ankle at least.)

After she had fully regained consciousness, Matthew opened her eyes to look around. No, actually her eyes were already open but she hadn't noticed it because the place she had fallen to was pitch dark. Slowly and with a groan of pain, Matthew put strength in her arms in order to sit up. After she did, she felt something big and cold on her back which was probably a wall.

"This room is cold...and it smells fusty. Is there no window here? Just where in the world am I?! Ow, my back."

As she analyzed her situation, Matthew leaned her hand on the wall and stood up with some difficulty and a lot of pain. Apparently the room whe was in was big enough that she could stand up normally; for an instant, she had been afraid she could be in some sort of basement. It didn't make any sense though: last thing she remembered, she was falling down because of that spaceship, and then...

(Hm? What happened then?)

Matthew tried to remember, but a strange feeling creeped up in her chest telling her she didn't want to remember.

"Am I dead? Then, is this purgatory or something?! Now way, where's the river and the flowers?! Give me my money back!"

No way, no way, no way! She couldn't be dead! How could she die now! What about her vow of becoming a true highschool girl? What about Galahad's noble sacrifice?! Was that all in vain?

(How the hell am I supposed to accept that! Dead or not, I'm leaving this place!)

Refusing to give up so easily, Matthew got all worked up and started checking the unknown place she was in. There had to be a switch of some kind somewhere!

As she groped around in the dark, the basic layout of the room started to form in Matthew's mind. It was a big room of around ten square meters; given how stuffy the air was, it was safe to assume there was no window, or even that she was underground. The walls and ground were made of a cold and hard material, probably some sort of metal. Now, as to what kind of room would be made entirely of such a material, Matthew had no idea. Anyway, there didn't seem to be any furniture as far as Matthew could tell; it was quite hard to tell in this dark where she lost her sense of direction. The walls seemed to be covered in posters in no logical order.

"Wha-ouch!"

And the floor was covered in papers like the one whe just slided on on. At any rate, the most likely answer as to where she was, was some sort of storage room. Now, that still didn't explain how she had arrived here, but at least she confirmed she wasn't dead.

Hooray!

"Hm? What is this...?"

Just as she was getting up from her fall, Matthew felt something in the dark. It was hard and cold as well, so it was probably furniture. Great, maybe she could learn something at last!

It was a desk. There seemed to be quite a lot of stuff on it, like pens and mugs and even more papers. Now Matthew was even more confused at the nature of the room. Everything seemed to indicate this was something like an office, but why would an office be underground?

Then, while Matthe's hand was randomely searching on the desk, she found a computer and activated it by accident.

"Whaa! My eyes, I'm blind! Hel-owwiiiee!"

The sudden light hurt her eyes and she tripped on a paper again.

"Ow ow...I'm tired of suffering... Ah, but if I can feel pain it must mean I'm alive! Yosh, it's getting better and bett-..."

As she was complaining to herself and rubbing her poor little head, Matthew glanced at the paper which made her slip.

And the paper stared back.

"..."

It wasn't just her imagination: what she thought was just some random paper was a poster with a triangle drawn on it. And in the middle of this triangle, some creepy eye felt like it was watching her.

"I...is that...?"

Yes, there was no doubt. It was _that_ eye.

"Why is there a picture like that here?...Actually, I don't know where I am so..." Matthew tried to regain her cool.

She lifted her gaze from the poster and looked around the room that was now filled with light.

And her whole body froze.

Everywhere.

On the wall; on the floor; on the desk too.

All the posters she had felt on the wall and almost slipped on...all of them had the same motif drawn on it. The same eye, looking at Matthew from every direction. To be sure, those were normal posters, and the eyes were just drawn. But because of the way computer screen's light reflected on the walls,a nd because of Matthew built up stress and anxiety, she had the impression there were a multitude of eyes looking at her right now. Without blinking.

"Awawa...AAAAAAAAAH! Wh-what the hell is this place! Mordred-san! Galahad-san! Hell, even Grey-kun and Green-kun! Please someone help me!"

It wasn't good: she was completely losing it.

And then, Matthew remembered the computer she had just turned on. She looked back at the screen, curious and scared at the same time.

What she saw was a tree.

"Ghyyyyyaaaaaaaa! Ah...wha?"

No, actually it was just the background picure. Whatever, the computer was asking for a password. Somehow, Matthew's curiosity managed to surpass her fear and she crawled all the way up to the desk (and made sure not to look behind her). Now that she was looking up close, there was a small triangle with an eye on the screen too.

"Anyway, a code huh? I wonder what kind of password a creepy place like this could have..."

Matthew stroke her invisible beard while thinking. Then, she thought back at the creepy drawing spread all over the room.

"...Let's go with I-L-L-U-M-I-N-A-T-I... Eh? It worked?!"

Somehow, the computer accepted the password, and a feminine voice rose up from the speakers.

 _Welcome back Mr. Domination Plan software started._

"Huh? What? What is going o-"

 _Shipment of uranium will be late._

"What shipment of uraniu-"

 _The gardener's schedule is full. Please call another time._

"What do a gardener and uranium have to do with each oth-"

 _Summarization of the WDP._

"What does WDP mea- wha! WHAAA! S-should I be seeing that?! What is that?! And this?! And what is this tree?!"

 _What ressources will be requiered?_

"Wha-? Oh, I can pick stuff? Let's see...sugoi, there's everything here! Let's see, there was that new Light Novel I wanted to try, ' _My Little Sister can't Possibly want to Mana Transfer_ '... Ah, there it is!"

 _My Little Sister can't Possibly want to Mana Transfer. Acknowledged. Shipment has been sent._

"Now, what else~. Hehehe..."

Everything was happening so fast and was so incomprehensible that Matthew's tension somehow loosened, and she started fiddling with the weird computer searching for all kind of otaku stuff and eroges she normally wouldn't be able to get on her own computer.

"And then, and then~..."

"Who goes there?"

Suddenly, a chill went down Matthew's spine, and she thought she'd do a heart attack right here and there. Someone was standing behind her.

"So, who's here?"

Matthew had completely frozen. She didn't even hear them approaching. How could that be?! Sure, she had been engrossed with her new toy, but she couldn't believe she hadn't even heard footsteps in a room made of metal. Something on her skin felt cold; it was wind. That probably meant the door had opened. Now that she thought about it, she didn't start by checking if the door was open.

(M-Matthew you baka!)

But what scared her the most, what made her the most apprehensive, was the person standing behind Matthew. Just who would have this room? Scratch this, just who would have such dangerous stuff on their computer?!

Slowly, Matthew truned her head around...

"...Eh...Ah...HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Huuuuh!"

It was the eye!

To be sure, stading behind Matthew was a man in suit around Mattew's size in height. But there was no head! Instead, there was a triangle! And the eye! Oh god, the eye had grown legs and arms to come and get her!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"M-mate, what's wrong?!"

Matthew frantically turned around, brushed aside the Eye and made a sprint for the now open door. She focused her eyes on the exit and tried to ignore the eyes staring at her from the walls and floor.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIIIIIIE!"

"W...wait...?"

And she was gone, leaving him alone in the dark. All Adam-kun could do was look around at the messy room and sigh.

"Why are my poster all over the ground? I had made sure to put them on that side..."

Well, it didn't really matter anyway. Instead, Adam-kun walked up to the desk's chair and sunk heavily into it.

"Sigh. Though, how did this girl get here? And why did she run away? Rude! Sigh."

He actually had nothing to do now that he was back from the bathroom. He merely spun around on his chair and hummed, trying to kill time.

"Man, this World Domination Club sure is getting lonely. I wonder what Helena-chan is up to..."

Then, his attention was attracted by the bright computer screen.

"Hm? Didn't I turn it off? Just how did...hm, what is that? ' _My Little Sister can't_ -"

* * *

"Wh-where in the world am I?!" Matthew cried as she ran down the hallway.

Before she had noticed, she had escaped from the creepy room. However, what awaited her outside was just as unnerving. Strictly speaking, it looked exactly the same as Seihai High's hallways, but there was something different to it. Firstly, there were no windows, which confirmed ehr suspicion that she was underground. Secondly, this hallway was dirty. There was no way such a dusty place could exist with the super-janitor's knowing. Which was even more strange since, well EMIYA-san _was_ the super-janitor.

(The super-janitor sees all!)

Finally, there was something haunting this place. Matthew couldn't tell what, but something in the air was completely different from the school's atmosphere. It almost felt as though there were yokai's looking out for her in the shadows of every corner. Without a doubt, a great evil inhabited this place.

"Damn, I'm lost. Is this place some kind of labyrith or what?!"

If that was the case, someone could have at least put a map!

At any rate, Matthew was becoming more and more uneasy. She didn't remember that part from Mordred's tour of the school. Consequently, she didn't know the way out. Maybe the best idea would be to ask someone. But, where could there be people around here?

"...Huh?"

When she turned around a corner, Matthew noticed something from the corner of her eye. It was a sign.

"...'club'? All these rooms are club rooms?!"

She hadn't payed attention to it before, but there was indeed a sign above each door with the name of a club written.

"What the- who would want to do club activity in such a creepy place! Well, forget about that; I know where to find indications now." Now the question was, which room should she go in?"...-!"

Matthew's thoughts were interrupted as she heard footsteps coming in her direction. Her heart jumped in her chest and she intuitively tried to go back on her tracks. Yet, when she did, she heard another pair of footsteps coming from where she had come from.

She was trapped.

Whatever, she couldn't think straight and her reaction was lightning fast. Since she couldn't go either way in the hallway, she walked into one of the classrooms in order to hide.

(Wha, whaaaaaaaa! What am I doing!? Why am I even reacting like that?!)

Her heart was beating so fast in her chest that it hurt. Inside the (yet another) dark classroom, Matthew held her breath the best she could as she listened carefully to the footsteps outside. It was a bit pathetic to be crouching in the dark like that, but it was for her sanity's well-being. Somehow.

The footsteps didn't seem to want to go away. Thinking about it, Matthew only heard them. For all she knew, they weren't even coming toward her. That was only wishful thinking though: she could clearly hear them getting louder and closer. At this point, they were not far from the classroom Matthew was hiding in. They'd probably meet at some point. Anyway, Matthew was just praying for them to go away quickly.

"Heh?"

But then, the two persons stopped walking.

Right next to Matthew.

Next thing she knew, the door to this classroom was opening, letting in a flow of light and despair as two shadow appeared in the frame of the door.

"Ara?"

"Ah?"

"Ah..."

Crap.

In the first place, Matthew had wanted to ask someone for indications, so how did she end up in a situation where she was crouching suspiciously inside a dark room with two unknown girls staring at her from the entrance? The situation was so alien to Matthew it's not even funny.

Though, she did have the feeling she had already seen these girls somewhere. They were not Saber students, that much she was sure of. Yet, she had a vague feeling it wasn't the first time she was seeing them. Then, it struck her that it was during the school tour with Mordred the day before, where she had the occasion of observing (almost) all the other classes. If her memory was correct, the small girl with light blue hair and horns was in the Berserker class, while the rather tall girl with teal hair was the one crying in the Lancer class yersterday.

Even with that information, they might as well be strangers. Matthew felt sweats running down her forehead as she and the two other girls were looking at each other awkwardly. She didn't even dare standing up and stayed in her rather pitiful crouching position. Eventually though, the Lancer girl broke the silence and spoke up.

"Erm, Kiyohime-san, who is this girl?"

"Ara, I have no idea, Brynhild-san. Let's ask her!" Kiyohime replied with a small smile. It was a smile devoid of any warmth however. "Who are you~?"

"Eh, I-"

"So you're a thief."

"Wha?! No I'm not!"

"Brynhildr-san, she's a thief so let's catch her~."

"I'm telling you I'm not! I know I look suspicious, but-gha!"

Matthew hadn't had the time to protest that the girl called Brynhildr pounded on her like a beast and tackled Matthew on the ground.

"Thief."

"I..'m not...I need...some air..."

"Well done, Brynhildr-san~. Now let's bring her inside."

Brynhildr dragged the captured Matthew deeper in the classroom while kiyohime entered the room at last and closed the door behind her, effectively plunging the place in shadws once more. As a result, Matthew couldn't really tell what was going on, only that they used ropes to tie her hands behind her back and her feet to a chair. It was like one of those scene in yakuza movie when a character is captured before being tortured, which of course fueled Matthew's imagination.

"Wh-what are you gonna do to me?!"

"Ara, calm down, thief-san~." Kiyohime's voice circled around Matthew. "Brynhildr, can we have some light? Now, thief-san, tell us what you are doing here."

"As I already told you, I'm not a-"

"As I thought, you're here to steal our precious collection. How rotten!"

"Hey, you're not even listening! And what collection anyway?!"

"Cease your lies! There's nothing else you could want to steal from this club!"

"I tell you I'm not lying! And what kind of club are you anyway?!"

"Ara? You don't know, thief-san~? You're a bad thief."

"I'm telling you..."

"Kiyohime-san? Where is the light switch?" Brynhildr's voice echoed in the darkness. "Ah, there it is."

"We are..."

Then, one time too many, Matthew had to close her eyes not to be blinded by the sudden light, further reinforcing the 'interrogation' feeling of the situation. However, when she opened her eyes, she wished she had been blinded.

"...the stalking club!"

"HAAAAAAAAA! Wh-what is this placeeeeeee?! T-there's no way this club could be legal!"

"It is~. The chairman approved of it."

"HAAAAAAAAAA!"

It was horror incarnate. Now Matthew understood why there was such an ominous atmosphere in the hallway: this place was truly inhabited by evil, and Matthew was witnessing it firsthand. First of all, the walls, floor and ceiling were covered in pictures of the same two men. It was obvious these hadn't been taken legally, and there was even some of them taking their bath. But it wasn't only that: there were also posters, hair, used tissues, some junk and even handmade miniatures; the whole club room looked like some twisted museum of madness.

"Oi, Brynhildr-san! Your pictures are overflowing on my side! This si my side of the room!"

"But I want to put these pictures too..."

"Dame da na! Sensei said this is my side! Remove them or I'll burn them! Hehehe, burn~." Kiyohime chuckled and glanced over her shoulder in Matthew's direction. No, actually she looking at something lying on the ground next to the poor prisoner. When Matthew looked at her feet and saw a potato sack filled with something. "Just like Anchin-sama~."

(P-police! Officer! There was a murder heerrreee!)

It was hopeless. These grils were hopeless. This place was hopeless. Matthew was hopeless. But she refused to give up! If they weren't going to listening to her and free her, then she'll have to free herself! Fortunately, her binds had been made hastily and in the dark, so they weren't exceptionally well made. Matthew began to wiggle on her chair in order to undo the binding of the ropes; Kiyohime and Brynhildr were too busy with their 'collection' to notice Matthew's attempt at freeing herself.

Eventually, Matthew successfuly undid the ropes around her hands and, using the latters, she easily took care of the one tying her feet. Now that this had been taken care of, all she had to do was exit the room. However, that was easier said than done: if she had managed to free her limbs without being spotted, walking up to the door and opening it would go unnoticed. Moreover, they probably knew the place better than she did. In fact, why was Matthew the only one getting lost?!

Whatever, she'd have to look for an opening and go for it.

"Say, Kiyohime-san, where is sensei?"

"He should be in the other room, right~? I heard he was taking care of some miniature."

Indeed, matthew hadn't noticed it in her panic but there was another door, probably leading to an adjointed room. Now that they mentioned it, Matthew wondered what kind of teacher could possibly be in charge of the stalking club. Hm! Maybe it was the one person who could reason with them! If she waited for them, then maybe Matthew'd be able to escape this place without having to run!

(No! That's just wishful thinking. I can't believe any sane teacher would want to be responsible for these two yandere!)

But! Maybe that was because they want to bring them back to the right path! Maybe they were Matthew's light of hope!

"Ara, I can hear sensei coming~."

At any rate, maybe it'd do for a good diversion anyway. If they were the kind of person who'd help poor Matthew, then it was all good. If not, then she'd have to use this opportunity and make a run for the door.

What will it be?

Matthew's heart was pounding harder with each footsteps from the other room. She was sweating like hell, and her legs were ready to run at any moment.

They were right at this other side of the door. They'd be entering any moment now.

Matthew gulped.

And then, the door is being slammed open...!

"Behold, mongrels! This what a true ahoge looks like!-" _VLAM!_ "Hm? What was that?"

"Gilgamesh-sensei! We captured an intrud-...Ah, she's gone."

* * *

"Huff...Huff...!"

She did it!

Matthew managed to escape!

There was no way she could stay there in this gathering of madmen. At any rate now, she was once again running through the hallways, this time faster. She didn't even bother to look back to see if she was being chased. Of course, she still didn't know this place's layout, and she got lost almost immediatly. She didn't pay it any attention though, and she passed in front of the stalking club room several times without noticing. But that wasn't the worst: everywhere she looked, she could see signs indicating weird clubs again and again! Stalking wasn't the most terrifying word she had seen down there. There even was a club room from where she could hear some shouting _'Rejoice! Rejoice!'_ . She suddered at the mere sight of the club's name.

She was breathless, but considering what had happened so far she didn't want to spend one more second in this crazy place.

"All I wanted was some directions~!" Matthew sobbed.

Yet it seemed as though everyone here was nut. The best she could do was to keep going until she found her way out. It may sound stupid and random, but it was far most efficient than getting tied up in every club room.

And it worked! It took an eternity, but it worked!

Indeed, Matthew eventually reached a place she didn't recognize, meaning she had managed to an upper floor. Her guess was confirmed when she saw a huge arrow painted on the wall with ' _EXIT_ ' written next to it.

"S-saved! I'm saved!"

Matthew was crying tears of joy. The mental strain from her recent adventures probably added to it, but she felt genuine hope and happiness at the sight of that exit arrow. After following that same direction, she eventually found stairs going up, with true sunlight shining at the top!

(It's freedom calling! Freeeddddoooo-)

"Hey, Mashu-chan."

Matthew was about to spring up, fly up the stairs and finally exit this wicked place, when someone grabbed her uniform from behind. Thus, instead of spreading her wings, the chick fell miserably on the ground.

"Bwagh!"

Ah, the way the back of her head got into harmony with the floor. So that is pain.

"Hey hey, Mashu-chan what are ya doing?" Mordred, who was looking down at Matthew who was sprawled at his feet, asked innocently. "Is that some kind of new game?"

(O...Onooreee...Don't you ask me that with your pure smile!)

Matthew felt like venting all her rage and frustration at once on Mordred, but something deep within prevented her to. It was because, after all these hardships, the sight of Mordred being a kid was somewhat recomforting and warming for her heart. That's why, Matthew calmed her anger and painfully stood on her legs to cry on Mordred's shoulder.

"Whaaaa, Mordred-san! This place is...! This place is...!"

"Aye!"

"Don't you 'Aye!' me!"

"Aye! By the way, what is Mashu-chan doing here? The kendo club room isn't here." Mordred pondered as he stroke his invisible mustache. "Oh, I get it! You got lost! Mashu-chan is such a klutz~! Hahaha!"

(Gh!)

It truly hurt to hear that from him of all people, but he was right so there was nothing Matthew could say. Anyway, she didn't want to stay here even with a familiar presence by her side. That's why, she resumed wwalking up the stairs...only for Mordred to tuck at her uniform one more time.

"Bwagh!"

"Where are ya going Mashu-chan?"

"O-onoree... I mean, I'm going up obviously!"

"Aye, Mashu-chan can come visit my club!"

"Wait, I didn't say I wanted to-"

"Aye, aye! Let's go~!"

"I said I didn't- _Mordred-san the exit in the other way_!"

"But my club's this way."

"No! No! Noooooooooooooooo!"

Mordred mercilessly dragged Matthew back inside the club room underground complexe, only listening to what was convenient for him. Normally, Matthew would have been able to escape easily from him, but at present she was so exhausted she couldn't put up a fight. Thus, ye cruel fate, Mordred brought Matthew to a part of the underground she hadn't even visited during her desperate escape. In a way, maybe it was better because this particular place was devoid of the evil presence Matthew could feel earlier.

"What club is Mordred-san part of anyway?" Matthew asked, resigned.

"It's za best club!"

"Somehow hearing that from you makes it the worse club."

"Mashu-chan, that's mean! It's really the best!"

"How so?"

"It makes ya strong!"

"..."

"It makes ya meet strong people!"

"..."

"It let's ya punch strong people!"

"... Mordred-san, please tell me it's the boxing club."

"Nah, it's the Fight Club!"

There was no god.

"Let me go!" Matthew struggled against Mordred's grip. "Let me go! I don't want to fight!"

"Aye! Matthew can join my club!"

"I don't want to join eitheeeeeeeer!"

But it was all in vain. Mordred took the final step toward the Fight Club room and dragged Matthew in under his arm. All Matthew could do was cry bitterly as she was headed toward her tragic fate. For nothing good could come out of this.

The club room didn't look like the other club rooms at all. In fact, it wasn't a classroom but something closer to a gym with lot of equipment meant for various fighting sports or bodybuilding. In the middle of the gym, there was a huge boxing ring the likes of you could find in an official boxing facility. In that sense, Matthew's earlier guess wasn't that far off.

However, there was a fundamental difference between this place and a boxing club: it was the club members. Normally, you'd expect the members of an athletic club to be brimming with youth and sportmanship, genuine exemple of highschool students. But all the students gathered inside the gymnasium looked like delinquents! There was not even a single girl here!

(Of course, no highschool girl in her right mind would join the Fight Club!)

It wasn't the worst club morality-wise, but that fact didn't help Matthew feeln any more secure. The club members were all vicious-looking, muscular boys, most of them being at least second-years. They were all grinning as they saw Mordred approaching.

"Yo, Mordred-kun!"

"You lookin' happy. What gives?"

"Aye! I've brought a new club member!"

"Ho? A new club member?!"

"Where are they? Where are they?!"

Or maybe they looked like happy hamsters. The way they were looking around excitedly for the new member almost made Matthew feel bad for not being a new member.

"Aye! She's here!"

And Mordred lifted Matthew in front of him like he was showing some puppy. Though, since they were more or less the same size, Matthew was pretty much standing up now. And all the Fight Club members were now looking at her like curious animals.

"Oh, it's a girl! There's never been a girl in our club before!"

"But...doesn't she look a bit weak?"

"Baka! It's Mordred-kun we're talking about, obviously he's not gonna bring some lightweight!"

(S-stop staring at me like that! I don't care what you think but put at least one more meter between us!"

"Hey, we gotta tell the Boss."

"You're right. Oi, Boss! Mordred-kun brought in some new member for the club!"

One of the club members called out to someone on the other side of the gymnasium. Matthew couldn't see them from here, but they must have been the club captain. Though, 'Boss'? That a weird way to call your club captain. Matthew had a real bad feeling about it. Said bad feeling worsened when the 'Boss' came into view and walked in their direction. He was a boy-...no, calling him a boy felt wrong. Rather, he was a guy at least two heads taller than Matthew, walking shirtless with his body covered in scars like a war veteran.

"Nani? I hear there's a new club member?" The Boss repeated in a rather amused tone. The way he looked at Matthew with carnivorous eyes sent shivers down her spine. "Is that your friend, Mordred-kun?"

"Aye, Beowulf-senpai!"

"Pffff!" Matthew choked a little when she heard the newcomer's name. "B-Beowulf?!"

She knew that name. Or rather, she had already heard it. It made Matthew realize that they guys didn't look like delinquents. They _were_ delinquents!

"M-Mordred-san, this bad!"

"Aye?"

"This guy is a gang leader! He's the strongest of the northern region of the city! You've joined a gang!"

"Aye!"

"Don't...'Aye!'...me...whaaaaa..."

"So." Beowulf, who was now only a couple meters away from Matthew, looked at her as though evaluating a horse before a race. "I can't just let anyone in, you know."

"I don't want to join though."

"That's why, you'll have to pass a test before!"

"Why do nobody listen to me in this school!"

"You'll have to fight against me! If I'm satisfied with your performance I'll accept your application."

 _"Let me go!"_

"Boss!" Mordred spoke up. "I wanna fight ya with Mashu-chan!"

 _"Listen to me!"_

"Ho? Why is that? It's her test, not yours though."

 _"Please..."_

"Aye! Mashu-chan and I will crush the Boss!"

Whispers of amazement spread across the crowed watching the scene. That was understandable: after all, Mordred just said something outrageous. Not that Matthew had hoped she could get away from this in the first place, but now because of Mordred Beowulf's expression turned into a sharp interest.

"Eh, now that's something interesting you're saying, Mordred-kun." A smirk slashed across Beowulf's face. "Fine then, you two against me! You better be able to back your words."

 _"Someone please stop them!"_

 _Ding! Ding! Ding!_

For better or probably for worse, Matthew was now standing on the boxing ring next to Mordred. In front of them, the captain of the Fight Club, Beowulf. It looked like some boss fight from a video game or an national interschool match; if she ever had to step on a boxing ring and be under the spotlight, she'd have rather it was during a grand official match, and not some shady underground gym full of thugs. Right now, what was supposed to be a sparring match felt more like a public execution.

"...-chan. Mashu-chan, are ya listening."

"Ah, Mordred-san. Sorry, I was too busy praying."

"Like I said, Mashu-chan, Beowulf-senpai is super strong!"

"I could already guess that. How strong exactly?" Since they were already on the ring anyway, they might at least try, is what Matthew thought.

"See his scars?"

"Yeah." Beowulf had quite a lot of them. So much in fact that Matthew was wondering how he was still alive.

"I heard he got them from fighting off the school nurse!"

"That strong?! That's just wrong, Mordred-san! We're gonna get killed!"

"Aye! I mean, no we're not! Mashu-chan, we can do it together!"

"We're gonna get killed together you mean!"

Modred was nut. Everyone in the gym was nut. Couldn't they understanding simply from looking at her that Matthew was a normal, fragile and defenseless highshool girl?

Apparently not.

There was no going back after being dragged into it so far. Mordred seemed confident that they could beat Beowulf if they were together, but how did that work?! This is one of the four strongest gang leader in the city!

No, could it be...? That the reason Mordred forcefully dragged Matthew with him was because he had planned to do that from the beggining?!

(Ugh...and Beowulf-senpai looks like he's really into it...)

"Are you done chit-chatting, you two?" Their opponent was getting impatient. "It's not talking that will bring me down, you know."

"Aye! We're ready, and we're incrdilb- awesome!"

" _Sob_ , I'm not ready.."

But there was no time to complain! Someone in the crowd announced the beggining of the fight with a ' _Ding!'_. Now, it was all up to Matthew: live or die!

(Here goes nothing...!)

Or rather, here came the Bowulf!

As sound as the start of the fight resounded, Beowulf's figure blurred, and he crossed the distance between him and the infortunate duo in a breath. He was stoo fast to see through his movements, so once he had closed up on you that was the end. The only thing Matthew could do right now was to keep her guard up. That, and...

" _Here I comes, new girl!_ " Beowulf roared ferociously from the top of his lungs. " _Show me what you've got..!_ "

When he was only a couple steps away from them, Beowulf's blurry figure shifted toward Matthew's position in the blink of an eye. There was no time to understand what was going on; immediatly Beowulf's right fist approached Matthew's face at a dangerous speed.

There was no time to evade...

 _"!"_

 _""""""""""""""""""""""""""...!""""""""""""""""""""""""""_

 _"Nani...!?"_

...But that didn't matter as long as Matthew knew he would be going for her first!

When Beowulf had launched a punch against Matthew, the latter had already taken one step backward. The fist swung by the Fight Club captain punched through air only! Everyone in the room was surprised, and Beowulf first. However, he wouldn't a good fighter if he let that take him by surprise. Immediatly after the first attack failed to reach Matthew, a second punch was swung. The only reason Matthew had been able to dodge the first one was because, judging from Beowulf's personality, he had been more likely to want to test her first since he already knew what Mordred was made of.

As expected, Matthew couldn't evade a seconde time, instead opting for protecting herself with her arms. The right hook plunged into Matthew's stomach, and she was sent flying backward. The instant the ttack had landed on her, Matthew felta wave of pain spreading through her body all at once, and even more pain had been waiting for her at the landing.

"Gh..! Ou-ouch..." But she could still stand up! "That hurts..."

"Su-sugoi! She can still stand up!"

"She withstood a punch from the Boss!"

"It was fast but...didn't she dodge the first one too!"

"He?! This girl is incredible!"

(Ugh, shut up you damn...It hurts, for god's sake!)

The most impressed of the bunch was probably Beowulf: for a second gave Matthew a dumbfounded look, before pulling himself back together. And he did well, for Mordred didn't miss this opportunity.

"Here I come, Boss!"

"Tch! Mordred-kun...!"

Since he had been focused on Matthew, Beowulf had noticed the boy closing in on him too late, and by the time he put up his guard, Mordred was right next to him, ready to attack. There was a fundamental difference in height between the two, meaning that Mordred's surprise effect was further enhanced by the fact that Beowulf didn't calculate his position immediatly. This, however, had not been enough for Mordred to land a hit.

All of Mordred's punches and kicks were easily parried by Beowulf despite the latter being at a disadvantage. When Mordred's last punch failed to reach the captain, the latter caught his arm and pulled him forward to punch him directly in the ribs.

It was Mordred's turn to land heavily on the boxing ring.

"Ouchouchouch! Dammit, Boss, yer too fast!"

"Hey now, you said you'd beat me. You need to be at least that fast." Beowulf shrugged tauntigly. "Though I must say, that's an amazing friend you've got here. That won't be enough though!"

As he said that, Beowulf lowered his body and was about to pound on them once more.

"Aye! We can beat ya! Just like we beat old man Sasaki!"

"Eh? But Mordred-san, didn't we- Hey!"

Just as Beowulf was closing in on them, Mordred grabbed Matthew and held him in front on him. That's right, that's how they had beaten the gatekeeper of hell. By using Matthew as a meat shield!

"Wait, no, I don't want to...!"

"That won't be enough to stop me! That this, my special move! ORAORAORAORAORAORAORA-"

"YAMEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-"

* * *

 **The following sequence has been cut off in order not to hurt the reader's sensibility**

* * *

"AW!-OW!-OUCH!-ITA!-ITE!-ONOREONOREONORE!-"

"Dammit, Mashu-chan won't last long enough!" Mordred gritted his teeth as he protected himself from the barrage of punches with Matthew. While the latter was undergoing her 'test of fire', he watched every of Beowulf's movement carefully, looking for an opening. "I need to do something... _now!_ "

Suddenly, Mordred let go of Matthew and bent his body forward to enter Beowulf's blind side. As for the unfortunate meatshield, since she had no one holding her anymore she fell to the group like an abandoned rag doll.

"Ah...ahhhhaaaaaaa..."

It was too late that Beowulf's noticed that fact, and before he could spot Mordred the latter was already clenching his fist.

The span of a second, it seemed as though time had stopped. As for Matthew, she was sprawled on the ground.

"That's for Mashu-chaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

And the next instant, Mordred swung his fist with full force into Beowulf's chest; this time, it was the captain's turn to fly. As for Matthew, she was sprawled on the ground.

"He...hehe...hehehahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" As though he had received no hit at all, Beowulf stood up almost instantly. "Now it's getting interesting you two!"

"Aye! I won't hold back!"

"Ho? Then let's settle this right now...!"

The two fighters, grinning at each other with this same passion for fighting, raised their fist in unisson, and soared through the boxing ring to meet and exchange blow with each other.

"Take this you damn braaaaaat!"

"Aaaaaayeee- eh?"

 _"Oi, you fuckers really want to die."_

"...Huh?"

As for Matthew, she was not sprawled on the ground anymore: she was standing right next to the two fighter about to unleash their attacks on each other. Speaking of which, the two stopped moving abruptly when they sensed her presence nearby. But it wasn't because of how fast she had recovered, or because she had suddenly closed the distance between them.

It was because of the ominous aura surrounding her.

Suddenly, Matthew grabbed both of their shoulders.

 _"First you don't listen to me, then you use me as a meatshield..."_

"S-sniff..." Mordred started crying. "M-Mashu-chan..."

 _"And then, you leave me on the floor and try to avenge me? You baka!"_

Matthew's grip tightened, while the dark aura intensified.

 _"Now do you really think I'll just let this sliiiiiiiiide!?"_

"W...whaaaaaaaaaa...!"

"B-bakana...!" Beowulf was at a lost for words. He was simply incapable of moving in front of this overwhelming murderous aura. "T-this is...!"

* * *

"Sigh." Matthew lost the count of how many time she had sighed. She had probably lost all her luck as of now so it didn't matter.

At the moment, she was in the girl's bathroom inside the Saber building, busy washing the blood off her hands. After the battle was forcefully finished, one member of the Fight Club showed her the way out of the underground complexe, and Matthew could finally take a break.

"Though, this is a complete disaster..." Matthew complained. "Not only was the day horrible, but I still haven't joined a club. Galahad-san's sacrifice was in vain..."

Even after leaving the Fight Club gym, Matthew had wanted to try a few other club. But!

When she went to the science club, they were building a death ray!

When she went to the karate club, they were out training in the mountains!

When she went to the baseball club, the members told her not to come with their souless pleading eyes!

And now she was just walking down the way to the school gate, her head hanging sadly and her feet dragging. The sun was setting; all the club activities should have ended by now. It seemed like there was no club for her in this school after all...

"Ah, excuse me!"

"Hm?"

Just when she was about to leave through the gate. Matthew heard a girl voice calling. At first she thought she wasn't the one being called, but upon turning around she realized there were no one else than her here. No one else except a girl running in her direction. The girl was sweating and breathing heavily when she finally caught up to Matthew, who looked at her suspiciously.

But no matter how much she stared, this girl looked everything like a normal highschool girl. A rarity here!

"Hm, sumimasen." The unknown girl said when finally catching her breath.

"Ah, no it's nothing! W-what did you want?"

"Excuse me, but are you Mashu-san?"

"I...guess?" Matthew had decided to accept this nickname by now. "Do you have business with me?"

"Ah, no, it's just..." The gilr fidgeted shyly. "I-I'm from the track & field club and, hm, we saw you running this morning during P.E and... w-we wanted to know if you'd be interested in joining!"

"Ah?" At first Matthew didn't understand what was going on.

"Ah! Of course, if you're already in a club, you c-can't- kya!"

Then, without any warning, Matthew caught the girl's shaulder with her hands.

"Tell me...what do you do?"

"R-...running?" The girl looked like a scaredy cat.

"What about your club activities?!"

"W-we train and...r-run!"

"..."

Matthew said not one word more. Her own shoulder shook. Was it fear, or anger? No, it was joy. Tears of joy pearled her face as she hugged the unknown girl tightly in her amrs.

"I'll joiiiiinnnnnn...!"

* * *

"Sigh."

Somewhere in the city, someone else was sighing. Night had fallen since long, and by now it had been filled with the lights of the city. Gazing down on the street from the top of a twnty stories building with no stairs leading to the lower floors, Helena-chan was the one who sighed.

"How am I going to get down here? Grey-kun, Green-kun~."

She held her knees in her arms and ust kept watching the city from her beautiful point of view, bored.

"I wonder what Adam-kun is doing."

* * *

 **The Chairman's Notes**

 **Matthew Kyrielite**

 **Stats:**

 **Litterature: C**

 **Math: A**

 **P.E: D (Dodges too much)**

 **Sciences: B**

 **Economics: C**

 **Skills:**

 _ **Transient Wall of Snowflakes:**_ **Surprisingly sturdy and resistant...**

 _ **Obscurant wall of Chalk:**_ **...though I'd like Mordred-kun to stop using her as a shield. She'd a Saber, not a Shielder.**

 _ **Shield of Rousing Resolution:**_ **Managed to enter the Saber class, despite average results in most fields. Surely the result of a strong resolution.**

 **Overall:**

 **Not as good a student as Mordred-kun, but more down-to-earth. Hopefully she can look after Mordred-kun. Probably. Please Mordred-kun, it's for your well-being.**

 **P.S: Has interesting three sizes.**

* * *

 _Thank you for reading!_

 _Hi, everyone, I hope you had fun with this chapter of Fate/Seihai High! And that you appreciated the turn I took on the clubs! While writing this chapter, I realized how little variety of clubs we were used to see in usual highschool comedies, and I had to come up with a few of my own._

 _Once again, thank you for reading! As usual, don't hesitate to comment, ask a question or both!_

 _~Legends Storyteller_


	4. Seihai High Shorts!

**Fate/Seihai High Shorts!**

* * *

 **Wild Life Documentary**

* * *

 ** _T. Edison:_** Hello everybody, and welcome back for another edition of ' _Wild Life in the City_ ', the TV show that makes you discover the fauna of your city! Today our show will focus around a very peculiar animal reputed for its small size and its vigor: the Mordred.

It is a specie that lives only in the Japanese metropolis of Nansensu, and that's where we're headed! Our correspondent and faithful cameraman Georges-san is already on the spot; Georges-san, can you hear me?

 _ **S. Georges:**_ Five-by-five, Edison-san! It's a little before six in the morning here in Nansensu City, it's almost time to behold the creature directly.

 _ **T. Edison:**_ Marvelous, Georges-san! Sounds like an exciting hunt once again!

 _ **S. Georges:**_ I don't hope any less than that. But tell me, Edison-san, this city...

 _ **T. Edison:**_ Oh, your nose is still as exceptional as ever, Georges-san! Yes, this city is particular: that's where we can find the famous Seihai High highschool, one of the most prestigious in our country! Due to the presence of this natural reserve, the population of unique and interesting creatures have been growing and overflowing, and we count more than 151 unique species!

 _ **S. Georges:**_ Impressive, Edison-san! But sadly we can only observe one today, since our target this time is particularly overflowing with energy. Ah, its almost time! I'm heading toward its location before it can wake up!

 _ **T. Edison:**_ Such passion, Geroges-san! While you make your way toward our next objective, allow me to explain the situation to our viewers: the Mordred lives in one precise location in all Nansensu City, that is the Pendragon household. In this large place exist a number of other species which interact daily with the Mordred to create a true ecosystem together. Where are you, Georges-san?!

 _ **S. Georges:**_ I've arrived to our destination, Edison-san: the Pendragon household! It is not easily accessible, but I've seen more dangerous than this!

 _ **T. Edison:**_ Indeed, among the beasts thriving in this area, several are carnivorous and particularly aggressive. Such courage, Georges-san!

 _ **S. Georges:**_ I'm in, Edison-san! Now, to find the creature...

 _ **T. Edison:**_ The only way to find the Mordred at such an early hour his in the lair where it sleeps, also called a 'bedroom' by the specialists. The Mordred is only there twice a day, in the morning and in the night. The rest of the day it constantly changes from place to place, so this is our only chance!

 _ **S. Georges:**_ I've reach the bedroom, Edison-san! I'm opening...!...I look left and right, but I can't find any trace of the Mordred's presence. Could we have missed our opportunity?!

 _ **T. Edison:**_ Don't worry, Georges-san, and look carefully! Here, in the bed!

 _ **S. Georges:**_ Oh, this is...! There is our Mordred, healthy and sleeping! But Edison-san, it looks like it's about to wake up any moment now!

 _ **T. Edison:**_ Our viewers need pictures, Georges-san! The awakening is an important part of the Mordred's everyday life, so we can't miss it for any reason! But before that, we need to explain to our viewers why Georges-san, the experimented cameraman, couldn't spot the Mordred: you see, the 'bed', the precise spot where the Mordred sleeps, possess an extremely flabby matress, so flabby in fact that the Mordred litterally sinks in the bed during it sleep! Specialists still haven't agreed on the reason, but most believe it is a survival instinct developped over generations to protect the Mordred fom predators when it is resting and therefore defenseless.

 _ **S. Georges:**_ Such a smart creature! Ah, but it looks like its waking up now! I'm filming!

 _ **T. Edison:**_ Please do, Georges-san! Now look: can you see that hole in the matress? That's where the Mordred is currently sleeping! Now, young Mordreds have great diffculty getting used to such a system, and it usually needs the help of its parents to get out. Ah, but...there it is! Look, see the strength and grace with which the Mordred springs out of its bed! Georges-san, can you hear its cry?!

 _ **S. Georges:**_ Y-yes! If I'm not mistaking, it howled ' _It's mooooorniiiing!_ ' just as it lept out of its mattress!

 _ **T. Edison:**_ Yes! That is indeed the caracteristic cry of the Mordred when it wakes up. Specialists believe it actually has a meaning, a sense for the other Mordreds. But this will sadly remain a mystery for as long as science doesn't find a way to communicate with this noble creature. Look how it runs around the bedroom with such energy, how it rolls on the floor and jumps on the wall! It's hard to believe how agile this small animal can be!

 _ **S. Georges:**_ Affirmative, Edison-san. I'm well hidden at the moment, but if I'm not careful it could find me, and I can only pray it doesn't!

 _ **T. Edison:**_ Indeed, Georges-san! The Mordred isn't known to be aggressive, but on the contrary is too affective and may hurt its playmate in the process of loving them. Especially when it uses the primitive tool known as a 'baseball bat', in which case it will often love the shit out of them!

 _ **S. Georges:**_ I can't believe it, Edison-san...! It hasn't stopped moving for ten minutes straight! Is his stamina unlimited?!

 _ **T. Edison:**_ Nobody can answer this question, Georges-san. But it is undeniable that this boundless energy is an advantage in the hostile environment that is the Pendragon household. It is far weaker than most of the other species inhabiting it, but its vigor and its speed can more than make up for it.

 _ **S. Georges:**_ It moved! The Mordred suddenly stopped its morning ritual and left its bedroom like a gust of wind! I have to hurry if I don't want to lose it!

 _ **T. Edison:**_ Finally, we get to observe the Mordred as it interacts with the other members of this unique ecosystem! Georges-san, what do you see?!

 _ **S. Georges:**_ I managed to catch up with it, but a surprising scene is taking place before my eyes! The Mordred seems to have crossed path with another animal, but I don't understand what is going on! Here is a picture!

 _ **T. Edison:**_ Oooh, this is...! The Mordred seems to have encountered a Gawain, another specie that dwells in the Pendragon household! The relation between the Mordred and the Gawain are complicated: see, they don't seem to get along with each other and yet the Gawain looks like it dotes on the Mordred at times.

 _ **S. Georges:**_ It moved again! The Mordred moved away from the Gawain and headed in the lower stratum of the household. What does it plan on doing there?

 _ **T. Edison:**_ The reason is simple, Georges-san: in order to make up for the energy spent in its morning ritual, the Mordred needs to eat plenty of food. Let's not disturb it while it eats, Georges-san. We wouldn't want the Mordred to feel threatened and to retreat in its lair for the rest of the day.

 _ **S. Georges:**_ You are right, Edison-san. But how long will it take?

 _ **T. Edison:**_ It is instantaneous, Georges-san. The Mordred has displayed an ability to swallow food at an astounding speed, again probably because of its energic behavior. Can you see it come out of the 'kitchen', Georges-san?

 _ **S. Georges:**_ Yes! But what is it doing? Ediso-san, the Mordred seem to have taken its trusty baseball bat and is heading toward the exit of the household while humming. It looks like it is in a good mood. What could it be up to?

 _ **T. Edison:**_ Film the scene, Georges-san! We are about to witness the Mordred in its hunt for its favorite prey: the Mashu-chan! The latter is a specie that lives outside of the Pendragon household, in another part of Nansensu City.

 _ **S. Georges:**_ I-incredible! I can't believe my eyes!

 _ **T. Edison:**_ What is it, Georges-san?!

 _ **S. Georges:**_ The Mordred was stopped in its stampede by another creature! It seems like a battle is about to unfold before our eyes!

 _ **T. Edison:**_ It's...a Galahad! The Galahad is a rival of the Mordred in thos ecosystem. No matter what the Mordred sets out to do, the Galahad decides to stand in its way. Yet, the Galahad has never shown any sign of attacking the Mordred. On the other hand...Georges-san, what is the Mordred's reaction?!

 _ **S. Georges:**_ It's loving the Galahad! It's loving the shit out of it!

 _ **Dangerous Beast:**_ Who are you people?!

 _ **T. Edison:**_ Georges-san, what was this roar of pure power?!

 _ **S. Georges:**_ Oh no, I was spotted by a dangerous creature. Its...an Artoria! It's the king of this small scale ecosystem, no other animal can hope to face it! Edison-san, I'm running away!

 _ **Dangerous Beast:**_ How did you get in there?! Did you break into my castle?!

 _ **T. Edison:**_ Courage, Georges-san!

This unfortunately conclude today's session! See you next time, dear viewers, in another edition of ' _Wild Life in the City_ ', a TV show by EDISON 19th CENTURY studio!

* * *

 **Onee-chan**

* * *

"Hello, world! I am Rhyme! Nursery Rhyme! I want to be the best, perfect, ideal highschool girl! Just kidding. That would be my Onee-chan. Onee-chan is so cool, I want to be like her when I grow up!

Right now I'm still in middleschool, but then I will be able to scream ' _Highschool girl~_ ' just like Matthew Onee-chan. I don't know what's up with highschool girls anyway, but Matthew Onee-chan is cool, so obviously highschool girls are cool! By the way, Onee-chan isn't actually my sister, only my cousin whom I see from time to time; but she's cool like a true Onee-chan!

Even if I don't see her that often, Onee-chan and I keep contact by sending letters. It's a bit old-fashioned, but there's a real suspense when expecting an answer to arrive by mail! In her letters, Matthew Onee-chan is always upbeat and saying nice things, so I'm always happy whenever I receive mail from her.

But recently I've been seriously worried about Onee-chan. Don't know why, but something tells me everything hasn't been going well for her lately. I know Onee-chan is sad not to have her daddy and mommy home more often, so she was really looking forward making some friends in her new school. And I heard its a really prestigous highschool too! Atta-girl, Onee-chan! However, ever since the school year started, Onee-chan's letter have gradually become stranger and stranger.

It's still my Onee-chan, but there's a really depressed feeling in her letters. And the content has become weirder too. I seriously wonder what's happening to her...is it the transition from middlechool to highschool that is hard? But I feel there's something else. And I just can't shake that feeling!

For exemple, here is the last letter I recieved before her graduation:

 _Day XX, Month 00, Sunday, Weather: sunny!_

 _Dear Nursery-chan,_

 _Your Onee-chan is happy! Your Onee-chan is sad! 'Wait, which is it?' I don't know~! Exams have been terrible, but your Onee-chan hanged on till the end! Though in hindsight, the exams weren't that tough (well, I still think they were) compared to the greatest obstacle on my way: the entrance exams for Seihai High! Those were the real deal! That's why Onee-chan is sad, and tired..._

 _But I'm happyyyyyyyyy! Onee-chan did her best! All those all-nighters, all the sweat and blood spilt to arrive here weren't in naught, soldier! Aye, sir! Exams results are in! Result: your Onee-chan is the best, Nursery-chan! Against all expectations, player Matthew makes a homerun! Teehee._

 _I still don't have the results from the entrance exams, but I'm confident sine I worked really hard for it! There was also a weird questionnaire with the entrance test, with really unexpected questions on it. I wonder what's up with that. But it doesn't matter: soon your Onee-chan will be a highschool girl-class Onee-chan!_

 _With love, Matthew Kyrielite~_

 _P.S: About that bully problem, the crotch is where you must aim, Nursery-chan~!_

I giggled when I received this letter. ' _This is really like Onee-chan_ ' I thought. She's so cool! She worked really hard, and her efforts were rewarded in the end! That's the epitome of cool! And her advices are really useful: all the bullies go down with one hit!

But then I received another letter after the beginning of the new school year. The tone was different in this one, Onee-chan really had a bad time:

 _Day XX, Month 00, Monday, Weather: cloudy..._

 _Dear Nursery-chan,_

 _Uuuuuu! Today was such a horrible day, Nursery-chan! Your Onee-chan had the worst day of her life! Even though today was supposed to be the best, even though I am finally a highschool girl starting today, why is fate so cruel!_

 _But crying doesn't explain everything, does it? So today was supposed to be the entrance ceremony for Seihai High. But your Onee-chan woke up late! I wasn't discouraged though, and I started to run like crazy to at least get there before the end of teh ceremony! I did arrive before the end, but at what price? My shattered dreams, that was the price! When I turned around a corner, I bumped into a boy from the same highschool; he was late too!_

 _I don't understand why things went so wrong. All those sign, this accumulateion of coincidence was supposed to be a sign of fate! But Onee-chan almost died three times becuase she decided to take his short cut! This isn't a hyperbole, I could have seriously kicked the bucket numerous times; jumping off a train; swimming in the river; fighting the Gatekeeper of Hell. Mordred-san (that the boy's name) even used me as a human shield!_

 _Ugh, why is destiny so cruel, Nursery-chan? But I refuse to give up! I've learned my lesson this time: the life of highschool girl isn't a given; you have to fight for it! Highschool fever!_

 _P.S: Congratulation on those exams! Atta-girl Nursery-chan!_

It was so sad! And there's nothing I could do to help my Onee-chan, except write a letter of encouragement. But I have faith in my Onee-chan! If there's something she puts her mind into accomplishing, nothing can stop her! So I wasn't worried about her future. But worries only worsened with the next letters, which she sent a couple weeks later. Onee-chan has usually dealt with her problem by the time she write another letter, so I was expecting good news. But I started questioning Onee-chan's sanity instead:

 _Day XX, Month 00, Saturday, Weather: rainy._

 _Dear Nursery-chan,_

 _I hate this place. There are so many things that are just plain wrong it's not even funny. What kind of highschool has a secret underground? What kind of highschool has a Fight Club? What kind of school has a stalking club?! What kind of school has UFOs! Your Onee-chan is tired. So many things happened it feels like it has been ages since I wrote a letter..._

 _At any rate, everyone here is crazy, beyond crazy. Your Onee-chan feels she's becoming crazy too, having to deal with all this craziness. But the worst has to be are you like this, Mordred-san? Why do you make Matthew-chan cry, Mordred-san? Ugh, he is such a handful, always carrying that baseball bat of his and trying to sneak into my room when I sleep. Even after I put barbwire around the house he tried to get through. I think Mordred-san doesn't know what barbwire is._

 _P.S: Please tell me some good news, Nursery-chan. Onee-chan feels like she's hitting rock bottom._

I'm seriously worried for Onee-chan now. After I read this one letter, I wondered what I should do. Should I call the police? From Onee-chan's letter it seems like winning a trial against Seihai High would be easy. But I refrained from doing so; no matter the situation, I can't take away Matthew Onee-chan's highschool life.

I just received another letter that I haven't read yet. I hope it's good news."

Nursery was done writting in her diary and put down her pencil to look at the unopened letter resting on her desk. It had only been a week since that last worrying letter, hence her apprehension at the idea of reading its content. But this was preposterous: she had always enjoyed Onee-chan's letter before, so she should be courageous and read it, for Matthew's sake!

 _Day XX, Month 00, Wednesday, Weather: death_

 _Dear Nursery-chan,_

 _I somehow got used to life here. It's not so hard, when you know the tricks to deal with each and every little problem! I wished Mordred-san would stop trying to go through the barbwire though. But it's not that bad, really! I think I died a little inside when I saw two idiots in costume downtown. But I'm fine! I wished the cafeteria had more options though. And those meal are too salty._

 _I doesn't have much to write, sorry. I must stop this letter here, I think Mordred-san got stuck in the barbwire again. Even at night I can't get some peace. Bye bye!_

 _P.S: That reminds me, we have a school trip this year! I wonder if I should bring a brass knuckle or a rifle._

"..."

Nursery couldn't tell whether the tone of the letter was supposed to be happy or depressive.

"...Onee-chan, are you alright...? N-no, I have to stay positive! Yes, the only reason it sounds depressive is because I see it that way! I'm sure that if I look at it differently...! Let's see...Yes, she says in the beginning that she's getting used to it, so it's a positive letter! She's complaining about that Mordred-san person...that's because she's feeling bad for him! She's worried for his well-being because they're friends! It has to be that! But what about those two guys in costume...Ah! If they were in costume,maybe it was a festival? Or a play? 'Dying inside' here must mean dying of laughter, or that she felt sad because of a tragic play! And when she says the meal are too salty, it's a culinary review! As expected of Onee-chan, she's a true critic!...But why would she bring a rifle to a schoolf trip...H-hunting! It's a prestigious school, so they have prestigious field trip! A-and the brass knuckle...is because Onee-chan will fight evil if necessary! Yes!"

Thank Nasu, her Onee-chan wasn't involved in anything dangerous! She's actually having plenty of fun in her new highschool irl life, no doubt about that!

 _DRIIING_

Just as Nursery Rhyme heaved a sigh of relief, the home phone rang. No one was home right now except Nursery, so she had to reply.

"Yes, Rhyme household desu~."

" _Kh, damn it. Where is she?!_ " " _I can't see her!_ "

"Eh?"

There was two voices at the phone, the panting voices of two boys who seemed to be in hurry.

" _A-anyway! Excuse me, is that Mashu Kyrielite?!_ "

"E-eh? No, I'm her cousin, Nurs-"

" _Damn it! Mordred-kun, your number isn't worth shit!_ _Mordred-kun?!_ "

Then, there was a loud noise, as if a building was crumbling down. For a moment, Nursery couldn't hear what the voice was saying, before a third voice rose up.

" _Running away is pointless. Stay put._ "

" _Dammit, she got Mordred too! We need Mashu's help o- Urgh! D...dammmmiiiiit!_ "

"..."

What followed was the sound of the phone hitting the ground, accompanied by grusome noises.

"...ONEE-CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

* * *

 **The Master of the Cafeteria**

* * *

"Eh...?...eh?! Where did I put it?" Matthew muttered to herself with a panicked voice as she was rummaging through her bag.

But no matter how many time she looked around, it was nowhere to be found. She had looked everywhere, went down to check her locker and came back in the classroom to search her bag one last time, but no could do. Intrigued by this demeanor, someone tapped her shoulder to get her attention.

"...What are you looking?" Galahad inquired with as much puzzlement his expressionless face could gather, which was to say none. "...Is it something important? It looks like it given how you're panicking."

"Ah, Galahad-san. Hm, I wouldn't say it's very important, but I need it. I think I simply left it at home though..."

"...Then, what is it?"

"My bentou..."

"...Bentou..."

It was lunch break at the moment, yet Matthew couldn't get her hands on her bentou. She clearly remembered preparing it this morning, but did she put it in her bag? Her memory was failing her. At any rate, she didn't have it so she'd have to find an alternative. It was a shame though, for once Mordred wasn't here either, and Matthew had thought she could finally enjoy a peaceful lunch with her bentou.

"What am I going to do though? I don't know if I have the time to eat outside..."

"...What about the cafeteria?" Galahad suggested.

But the thought sent chills down Matthew's spine. The school cafeteria; in a normal world, a place where those who can't cook or have someone cook for them can eat, gathering with their friends. And are these gazes meeting each other the sign of a fateful encounter?! Highschool romance~!

But no! This was Seihai High, so the cafeteria had to be a battefield, a ring where only the strongest warriors may eat! And even if that's not the case, something strange was definitely going to happen!

Of course Matthew had thought about the cafeteria, but could she really take a risk so high?

"I can't. No matter what, I want to stay alive!" She cried.

"...Stay alive?" Galahad repeated before looking up, deep in thought. Then, he looked down back at Matthew as if he had reached a conclusive answer. "...What about the cafeteria?"

"No, sir!"

"...? But, you'll die if you don't eat, right? So the cafeteria..."

"That's exactly why I don't want to go! My stomach doesn't digest poison and other weird stuff!"

"...But there's no poison in the cafeteria food."

"...There isn't?"

"...No. This is a normal cafeteria. Poisoning the students would be bad."

What to do? Matthew trusted Galahad as her sole ally in this school of madmen. But her survival instincts had caused her to grow wary of her environment. She had to make a choice and fast: lunch break wasn't eternal and she was really hungry.

After a short sigh, Matthew resigned to her fate.

"The cafeteria it is, then..."

"...I'll show you the way."

(And thus start Matthew-chan's grand voyage to the world of delicious death(?)!)

But against all expectations, the place Galahad led her to wasn't that bad. Rows of tables, a short waiting line and plates to put food on: this was a normal cafeteria, no matter how you looked at it. The students chatting merrily in groups didn't look like they were about to faint, and the smell floating from the kitchen to Matthew's nose was even really appetizing.

"Hm, I might have been too hasty to judge this place."

"...Indeed."

While waiting for her turn to come, Matthew decided to take a look at the menu. Normally she would just take the same thing as Galahad just to be safe, but she was actually curious what kind of food they served in a prestigious highschool. She read the first dish.

"Mapo tofu? That's right, they asked in the questionnaire if I like mapo tofu. I wonder wh-..."

The list went as follow:

 _Mapo tofu – 360 Yen_

 _Special mapo tofu – 360 Yen_

 _Fuyuki mapo tofu – 360 Yen_

 _Hill Church mapo tofu – 360 Yen_

 _Seihai mapo tofu – 360 Yen_

 _Mapo tofu (extra salt) – 360 Yen_

 _Holy Grail mapo tofu – 360 Yen_

 _Command Seal-induced Suicide mapo tofu – 360 Yen_

 _Black Keys – 360 Yen_

 _Motorcycle – 360 Yen_

 _Salt – Free_

"..."

Matthew stopped reading at some point. She skimmed through the list,a nd saw only mapo tofu. It was the mapo tofu list. She lifted her eyes from the menu to look at Galahad. The latter met her gaze with a look of confusion.

"...?"

"...What are you going to eat, Galahad-san?"

"...There's a lot choice, but I think I'm going to eat mapo tofu. Why?"

"..." (What choice?!)

It was now her turn to command a dish. The cook, a tall muscular man with opressive eyes and a faint smile on his face, was staring at her, waiting for her order. Wearing a golden cross around his neck, his presence was overwhelming.

Matthew gulped.

"I-I'll take some mapo tofu~..."

"A wise choice." The cook nodded with satisfaction before disappearing inside the kitchen.

Matthew took advantage of this short break from the cook's stare to look at Galahad once again.

"...?"

"...Galahad-san, who is this cook?"

"...Kotomine-san is a world-reknowned mapo tofu specialist. He is so good the school enrolled him."

"..."(So that's why there's only mapo tofu?!)

Soon enough (way too soon in fact, as if the mapo tofu was ready beforehand), Kotomine-san came back with a fuming plate fill to the brim with tofu and a deep red death sauce.

"Yorokobe shoujo. Your command is ready."

Yep, no way this was mapo tofu. The way the red sauce was seething like the baths of Hell, and the fragrance of a thousand all-too-spicy spices.

"...What is this?"

"Mapo tofu." Kotomine-san replied confidently, as though it was obvious.

"...By the way, why is there free salt in your menu?"

"We have a surplus of salt thanks to donations from very faithful clients."

That mysterious grin on the cook's face did nothing to reassure Matthew. But there was nothing she could do now. It was too late: her death warrant had been written, and she had unsuspectedly signed it with her own hand. She couldn't go back, so she put the mapo tofu on her plate and walked away lifelessly. She picked an empty table to sit down, and waited for Galahad to sit in front of her.

"...Itadakimasu."

"...Itadakimasu..."(The f*ck do you mean, itadakimasu? I'm gonna die if I eat that hellish dish.)

But Galahad, his spoon proudly wielded in one hand, attack the dragon and put a spoonful of mapo tofu in his mouth. Matthew looked at him in disbelief and bewilderment as he slowly chew and swallowed without a word or a reaction.

"...?"

"Galahad-san, i-is it good?"

"...It's mapo tofu."

A simple answer which filled Matthew with hope and expectancy. That was right: Kotomine-san was the best when it came to mapo tofu, right? So no matter how bad it looked, it was actually delicious, isn't it?

Believing in her student council president, Matthew grabbed her spoon and courageously moved the unknown substance from her plate to her mouth, and ate it. The taste, the sensation offered itself to her gradually.

First, she tasted salt. All the salt in the world. And her teeth chewed in the tofu and the mapo tofu's flavour filled her mouth, it was as though she had swallowed a potato bag's worth of salt.

' _We have a surplus of salt thanks to donations from very faithful clients._ '

Kotomine's words came back to mind as Matthew saw her life flash in front of her. But it was only the first sensation: then, she felt the spiciness, and at once the taste of salt disappeared as if it had never existed. That was because Matthew's tongue had officially gone numb from the cheer spiciness of the sauce.

Finally, she felt the hotness of the mapo tofu, a burning sensation which went down her stomach as she swallowed her first mouthful. Her throat was definitely burned.

Tears came out, sliding sorrowfully down her cheek in silent agony. What was life? What was suffering? Life was a miracle, fickle candle in this world governed by death. A temporary light, and suffering was the price for it. That was enlightenment.

As the first spoonful was swallowed, Matthew clenched her fist so hard her spoon broke apart. Following was the sound of her head hitting the table, or more preciselly the plate of mapo tofu.

"...Are you alright, Mashu-san?"

"W...water...anything..."

Galahad thoughtfully approached the glass of water to the paralyzed Matthew's mouth, and spilled the crystaline liquide inside her mouth. Like the rain watering the dry land after years of drought, the water brought life back to Matthew. Weakly, she raised her head from her tasteful defeat, sweating and breathing with difficulty.

"...By the way, I wonder where Mordred-kun is. I haven't seen him since this morning."

"That I know!" Matthew smiled, happy to have a reason not to eat (and her mapo tofu was spilled all over the table anyway).

"Wh- how!" For the first time sonce she met him, Galahad showed Matthew a genuine expression of surprise, as if it was something really extraordinary to know what Mordred was up to. "...How can it be?! I never thought someone could best my Mordred-sense. So, where is he?"

"I left him stuck in the barb wire."

"...That's-"

"I want him to learn his lesson."

Anyway, lunch break was about to end, and Matthew had lost all appetite. Hence, she stood up to walk away. But before she could, a powerful hand grasped her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Kotomine's face up close, staring at her with his mysterious smile.

She wanted to get away, but the hand on her shoulder was stronger and, slowly but surely, she was forced back on her seat.

"Ara, poor lost lamb, you seem to have spilled your meal." He said as, with his other hand, he poured more mapo tofu in her plate. "Yorokobe."

In front of such a well-crafted, well-executed joke, the only reaction one could have is laughing. So of course, Matthew laughed.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha-"

And she fainted.

* * *

 **Nurse of Steel**

* * *

Today, Matthew was ill for some unknown reason and couldn't come to school. This didn't stop Mordred from trying to visit her of course, with the same degree of success. He still couldn't figure out how to get past this incredible foe that was the barb wire. Ever since Matthew had installed those around the house, he hadn't managed to get through them, and if he rang to the door Matthew wouldn't open to him.

So today again, he was walking down the school's hallways sadly with his uniform torn apart and his face covered in scratches. And was was more, Matthew wasn't to school so he didn't even have that satisfaction.

"It's borin' when Mashu-chan ain't around..."

But there was no helping it: if he couldn't defeat the barb wire himself, he'd have to ask from his senpai. That's why at present he was looking for Beowulf, the Boss of the Fight Club. The latter hadn't come to the club for a while because he was still recovering from his one-sided fight with Matthew. The problematic part was that they didn't manage to get him out of school to a hospital, and instead it was the school nurse who had found him and taken him with her in the Deepest Pit of Hell, also known as the infirmary.

Mordred was currently covered in injuries due to his unfruitful attempt at infiltrating Matthew's house, so if the nurse did so much as laying her eyes on him, he would suffer the same fate as Beowulf. He would have to wait for her to leave the infirmary in search for other unfortunate victims so he could sneak into her lair and talk to Beowulf (she didn't kill the students at least, only making them suffer longer).

"Here's the infirmary. Now to get in..."

It was a normal infirmary as you could find in any highschool in Japan, both in appearance and content. But since there was a beast residing inside, one had to take their precautions before entering. The rumor said that even the chairman didn't come here for trivial reasons, only if it was a matter of life and death. But there was a silver lining to everything; over the year, the students had come up with the best technique to use when approaching the infirmary: knock to the door and, if you heard the nurse replying, run fast, faster than the speed of light.

Mordred approached his hand to the door slowly, already ready to run away. After three light knocks, he kept a sharp ear out. No answer.

(Maybe it was too light?)

He tried again, knocking with more strength this time. Still no answers. Then, it could only mean there was no one inside. Here I could say Mordred opened the door with apprehension and caution, but honestly he's too stupid for that.

"Booossss- ah, there's nothing."

Indeed, as he slammed the door open Mordred noted that there was not a living soul in the infirmary; both the nurse and Beowulf were nowhere to be seen. Mordred was happy that the nurse wasn't here, but no he couldn't ask Beowulf advice on how to bypass the barbwire.

"Muu, where did Senpai go?"

Frustrated, Mordred resumed walking down the hallways, pouting instead of brooding this time. It was about time he returned to class, which was where he was headed. If he couldn't do anything about Matthew, at least he could attack Otousama. Yet, as he was about to turn around a corner and head for the stairs, someone ran by in a hurry. These muscles and this hair, it could only be...

"Boss! I was lookin' for ya!"

But Beowulf didn't stop to talk to Mordred. He only turned around to look at the first year, and shouted:

"Run, you moron! Don't stay there!"

"Huh?"

For a second, Mordred only tilted his head in confusion.

 _CRASHH_

And the next instant, the corner wall behind Mordred didn't exist anymore, having been obliterated by some unstoppable force that was chasing after Beowulf. There whe was: the Nurse of Steel.

"N-Nightingale-sensei..." Was the only thing Mordred could mutter in his stupor before he started running like a headless chicken.

Nightingale's eyes glowed from withing the cloud of dust risen from the smashed wall. Her eyes landed on Mordred's running figure, analysing the scratch all over his face and his uniform in a poor state.

"Target acquired." She simply said, and like a bullet train she resumed her chase. "I'm taking you two to the infirmary this instant."

"I-I don't wannaaaaaaa!"

"Stop bawling and run!"

Both Beowulf and Mordred were fast, fast enough that they could be part of an athletic club. However, the Nurse of Steel Nightingale was something else entirely: it felt less like they were being chased and more like they were running away from the unavoidable, as she relentlessly hunted them, even breaking through walls like a certain Kool-aid mascot.

As they ran away from their demise, Beowulf and Mordred came across three other students heading for class. They immediatly recognized those three as they were also part of the Fight Club. They recognized the two fugitive as well, waving in their direction and oblivious to the current situation.

But when they saw the bloodthirsty demon chasing them, they immediatly put the pieces together.

"B-Boss, what's going on?!"

"Why is she tracking you?!"

"Because I escaped the infirmary, why else?!"

"Indeed." The nurse confirmed. "Your treatment isn't finished, so you'll come back with me."

"But I can run just fine! I'm healed already so don't pursue me!"

"No can do."

It was hopeless. At some point, the three club members had joined Beowulf and Mordred in their race for life for some reason, probably in confusion. But they couldn't seem to shake Nightingale off- on the contary, the nurse was getting closer.

"Kh! There's no choice, we'll have to face her!" One of them shouted and stopped running to face the impeding doom rushing in their direction. "Come at meeee!"

"You moron, you really think you can beat her?! She'll destroy you, and then take you with her to heal you! Do you realize what you're doing!"

"Beowulf-senpai." The man about to sacrifice himself turned his head around to look at the captain of the Fight Club. "T'was really something to be in your club. There was ups and down, but in the end it was a funny club." He saluted. "I want to follow you till the end, Boss! And if that's not possible, I'll buy you some times at least! Even if that means good-bye."

And with these last words, he rushed off to confront the rampaging monster. His sillhouette as he faced his inevitable end, his sacrifice.

"I...idiooooooooooooooot!" Beowulf could only scream, but he could stop his resolve.

They didn't need to look back to guess what was happening. The club member's defeat was immediate. Of course, there was no way he could have resisted to the terrifying Nurse of Steel, proud graduate of the Berserker class. Nightingale-sensei was one of the three strongest persons in the whole school, as was Beowulf until his defeat at the hand of that first year highschool girl. Even he was no match for her.

"He didn't even last long enough to call that 'buying time'."

"Damn it, there's really no hope!"

There could probably still run for five minutes. Beyond that, Nightingale will have caught up with them. As he kept running, Beowulf was seriously trying to come up with a solution to their predicament.

"...! Yes, we could try that!"

And there was a solution. If he couldn't defeat her, then maybe Matthew could. He had to get a hold of her somehow. He turned to Mordred who ws running beside him.

"Hey, Mordred-kun! Do you know where that Mashu girl is?!"

"Eh? Mashu-chan isn't at school today..."

"Damn it! I need to contact her one way or another! Do you have her phone number or something?!"

"Ah! Mashu-chan gave me her phone number!" Mordred realized, he could have called her this morning. Anyway, he took his phone out of his pocket and threw it at Beowulf who caught it.

As he looked for the number inside Mordred's phone, Beowulf looked behind him to see how close the nurse was to them. That's when he discovered with horror that the two other guys had disappeared, and so had Nightingale. It didn't mean she had given up on the chase, she was just disposing of her new patients.

Nervously, Beowulf selected Matthew's number on the list and called all while glancing back. While he was still on his guard, the voice of a young girl answered.

" _Yes, Rhyme household desu~._ "

"Kh, dammit. Where is she?!"

"I can't see her!" Mordred replied, just as fearful as Beowulf.

" _Eh?_ "

"A-anyway! Excuse me, is that Mashu Kyrielite?!"

" _E-eh? No, I'm her cousin, Nurs-_ "

And his last remaining hope was crushed with this plot twist.

"Damn it! Mordred-kun, your number isn't worth shit!" He vented his rage at Mordred, who didn't expect Matthew to _not_ give him her number, but her cousin's instead (if he becomes overbearing they could call the police). "Mordred-kun?!"

But when he looked at his side again, Beowulf didn't see Mordred anywhere. Could they have split up unknowingly at some point? No, there was no way. Beowuld was focused on the phone, but Mordred had no distraction. Then the only answer was...

 _CRASHH_

And on this day, another wall was smashed through. And from its crumbling remains, Nightingale appeared while carrying her other four victims like potato bags.

"Running away is pointless. Stay put."

"Dammit, she got Mordred too! We need Mashu's help o-"

But he couldn't even finish his sentence as the iron fist of the nurse came flying in his stomach. There was no running away anymore.

"Urgh! D...dammmmiiiiit!"

All strength left Beowulf's body and the mobile phone dropped heavily on the ground, while the person on the other side screamed.

* * *

 **Hazard Zone**

* * *

Matthew honestly had no idea as to what she should expect of her club. From what she had been told, the track & field club is actually a normal track & field club, which was disconcerting. Actually, she didn't know exactly what track & field was, she just joined because it was the most decent club she had found. That's why she had to do a bit of research beforehand.

"So it's essentially running, huh."

The girl who had scouted her (her name was Serenity by the way) told her they had noticed her during P.E class, when she was dodging all those swords flying in her direction.

At first, Matthew denied any possibility tht she that good at running, but then all her memories of Seihai High flashed before her -running to get to the entrance ceremony, running away from Herakles-sensei and the Assassin-class, running inside the underground complexe-.

"I-I've always been runniiing?!"

Most of those exemples were her running for her life, so she had no idea how she would fare in a non-threatening situation. But she didn't want to disapoint Serenity or the other club members who had given her this opportunity! And to be honest...

"Huhuhu~. Club life~. Sportmanship! Mutual help in order to improve! Getting closer! And then, before you know it you're close to someone, you get stuck in the storage room together and you go to festivals! Kyaa~."

Matthew didn't care at all what kind of club it was -though she was happy it wasn't the Fight Club or the stalking club-, she was simply happy to have found a club to be part of. Among other things, club activities were part of the perfect highschool life Matthew had dreamed of. Everything up until now had been a disappointment, but maybe the key to her dream life was inside that club she had miraculously come across. Starting from her, maybe she could build her highschool ideal with her own hands.

That was why, she absolutely didn't fail to show up at the next club activities. The simply fact of wearing her gym clothes outside of those hellish P.E classes gave her a special feeling, as though she was participing in some event. Probably that her enthusiasm showed on her face, because Serenity giggled gently.

"I-Is it the first time you're in a club, Mashu-san? You look really happy about it."

"H-haha, it's that visible, isn't it? Actually, I was in a cooking club last year, but I joined in the middle of the year for the last year, so I didn't really have the time to become friend with anyone. And the other members were a bit distant too, so it wasn't very satisfying as a club experience." Matthew explained as she scratched her head awkwardly.

It was the truth: up until the last year of middleschool, Matthew Kyrielite wasn't in any club, and thus couldn't partake in the sense of friendship and unity of the other members, even the first years who just joined. It didn't help that she was a bit socially awkward at the time, and kind of a loner. Because of that, Matthew's life as a middleschool student left a sour aftertaste.

"But it pushed me forward and made me long for this Shangri-la also known as the highschool girl life. So I won't give up, no matter what! Hahia!"

Matthew took a fighting stance to underline her iron conviction. Serenity giggled again, but there was no malice behind it. Unconsciously, Matthew was savouring this normal friendly atmosphere like a spring breeze.

(Ah, Serenity-chan is so nice!) Matthew cried in her thoughts.

"Hm, Mashu-san." Serenity fidgeted, suddenly looking a lot more shy than earlier. "I-if it's alright with you, c-can I be friend with you?"

"...Serenity-chan is so nice!" Matthew cried for good. This was the best treatment she had received ever since she set foot in this school, except for Galahad. "Yes, I want to be friend with Serenity-chan!" Matthew declared joyously before taking Serenity's hands in her own.

+1 friend!

But they couldn't keep talking forever, they had club activities to do!

"Serenity-chan, what kind of activities do you do in the track & field club?"

"Hm, it hasn't been that since I joined so I haven't done much beside running for now."

"So it really is about running...I don't know if I'll be any good."

"A-ah, but it's not a problem! Um, we're running to imprve our technic and our stamina, so we can do better. When people think of track & field, they mainly think of racing but there are plenty of activities beside running, like distance jumping, weight throw and high jump!"

As they talked, Matthew and Serenity started to run on the on the track. They were running at a pace slow enough that they could keep discussing even as they warmed up. Matthew also glanced at the other club members running around them. While a certain number seemed to be first years like Matthew there was also a considerable number of upperclassmen, but all in all there was no familiar face here. If Serenity wasn't being so friendly with her Matthew would probably have been too timid to try to approach them, so she was thankful for that too.

But she couldn't let things stay that way! She had to become closer with the rest of the club as well, and forget her misfortune! Of course, the first and most important person to get acquainted with was the club president, but the only one who approached her for now was Serenity.

"Say, Serenity-chan."

"Hm?"

"I still haven't greeted the club captain, or even seen them actually. What kind of person are they?"

"The captain? Oh, it'll be hard to greet him now..."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because he's running right now."

"Ah, right." But if he was simply jogging like they were right now, it was probably possible to catch up to him. "Where is he right now?"

"I dont know." Was Serenity's categorical answer.

"But if you know he's running-"

"The captain is..." She interrupted Matthew, but didn't finish her sentence in a mysterious fashion. "The captain is..."

"The captain is...?!" Matthew held her breath as though Serenity was about to make an unfathomable revelation.

"The captain is too good at running."

"Huh?"

As Matthew was pondering about the meaning of those words and how it related to her request, something shooted by right next to Matthew at a speed so tremendous she couldn't see what it was, and could only feel the gust of wind created by the unimaginable speed. It was as though a bullet had passed right next to her ear- no, like a supersonic train, leaving a shockwave in its wake.

"..." For a couple second, Matthew could only stare blankly in front of her while she kept running, as if her brain refused to acknowledge what had just happened. In fact, she wasn't even sure what actually happened. She looked at Serenity with confusion plastered all over her face. "S-Serenity-chan, what...?"

"That was the club captain."

"EEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHH?!"

What?!

"Achilles-senpai is the best runner in Nansensu City. No, actually I think he is the best of all Japan. Nobody's as fast as him, but he's way too fast. S-See how nobody runs in the middle?"

Serenity pointed at the middle of the track. She was right, Matthew hadn't noticed that detail but now that it was shown to her, it seemed like the other club members were avoiding that one particular zone. In fact, Matthew was the one closest to it.

"D-don't tell me...!"

"Yes. The club members have a general agreement to never step into this area so that Achilles-senpai can use it. It's not enough to guarantee our safety though..."

As Serenity achieved her sentence, the bullet train passed by again, but this time way outside of the tracks, let alone the 'safe zone'. Not only that, but instead of disappearing without trace like it did previously, the club captain left one visible mark of his passage: the grid which surrounded the P.E ground, and separated this part of the school with the outside world, had a human-sized hole in it.

"Is he alright?! S-someone call an ambulance!"

"Hm-hm." But Serenity shook her head. "He's daijobou. Since he has a hard time calculating his trajectory, this kind of accident happens a lot."

And she pointed at several spots in the grid, which also had holes in it. Matthew was speechless. So many thing were wrong here, she didn't know what to point out first. But more than anything, he was worried for her club captain.

But Serenity was right: Achilles was fine. Indeed, the supersonic runner's dash could be felt a handful of seconds time there was no new hole in the grid, and it seemed the captain had used the safe zone as intended. Matthew sighed with relief, but said relief was quickly interrupted when she heard the sound of a car crashing from the other side of the grid, followed by the characteristic car alarm resounding.

"That was the captain as wel?!"

"Yeah. He must have collided with a car again..."

" _Again?!_ " A cold sweat formed on Matthew's forehead. It was one thing to collide with a agrid, but an unfortunate encounter with a car was deadly! "Shouldn't we call an ambulance now?!"

"No, he must be fine."

"EEEEEEEHHHHHH?!"

That was inconceivable to Matthew. She was considered to be quite tough herself, but even she wasn't undestuctible. Even Mordred who somehow seemed unbothered by his injuries would stop moving after that.

And yet, for the fourth time Achilles raced through the track, only inches away from Matthew who fearfully jumped in surprise and placed her arms over her head. She escaped unscathed, but as the storm was gone she heard something fall heavily on the ground a few meters away from where she stood. When she looked up, she saw a boy she didn't know lying on the ground with foam and blood comming out of his mouth. Laying broken by his side was a bow, indicating he was a member of the archery club.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! Serenity-chan, does this happen often too?!"

But Serenity was like her, staring at the corpse with a horrified expression. A mix of despair, panic and wonder at how Achilles managed to run him over if he was at the archery range took over Matthew's nerves.

"We really should call an ambulance now!"

"B-but Mashu-san we can't!"

"Heh?! Why not?!"

"An ambulance would cause a ruckus, and the nurse will know!"

An unlikely yet undeniable obstacle had presented itself. Matthew had never learned firsthand what the nurse was like, but simply hearing people talk about it was enough to freeze her blood.

But before they could decide what to do next, the archery club member moved his arm feebly, and tried to write something with his blood.

"Does he have a solution?!" Matthew and Serenity looked at the death message with expectancy:

 _STRONGEST_

"What does it meeeeaaaaaann?! It's not the moment to boast!"

But the gears of fate were already moving: for the nth time Matthew felt her club captain approaching at a train-like velocity. However, unlike the previous times, instead of passing by like a jet plane Achilles's course was interrupted by something, or maybe he tripped over something. At any rate, he came crashing next to the archery club member and now there was to persons lying on the ground.

"Huh? Why did her colla- what is thaaaat?!"

As Matthew thought of helping Achilles who was lying face down, she saw the reason for his sudden accident: a long, black arrow was stabbing into his right butt-cheek.

"A-Achilles-senpai, are you alright?!"

"Yes I am!"

"Huh?!"

As though nothing had happened, Achilles sprang to his feet and swept away the dust on his gym clothes. With the arrow still sticking out of his buttock.

"Are? Are you a new member?" He asked after he noticed Matthew's presence.

"Um, y-yes. I am Matthew Kyrielite. Nice to meet you." Matthew bowed politely, but her eyes kept going to his butt.

It was her first time meeting her club captain face to face. They said first impression was the most important; in that case, she would never be able to look at him without thinking back to this episode. Still, it felt incorrect to leave him in ignorance, and, awkwardly, told him about the arrow.

"Oh, that?" He didn't seem surprised, rather laughing it off like it was nothing. "This is Atalanta-chan's love! Hahahaha!"

"...love..."

Matthew turned toward Serenity, looking for an answer in this ocean of craziness.

"Ah, h-hm, A-Atalanta-senpai is the captain of the archery club."

"Yes, that's right, that's right! I tried to take a peek at the archery range, but it seems Atalanta-chan noticed it and got angry."

"Isn't that rather because of this guy." Matthew replied flatly as she pointed at the dead(?) archery club member.

"This guy?" Achilles frowned, as thoughhe didn't understand what Matthew was talking about. Then he looked next to him. "Uwha! What happened to him?!"

"..."

"..."

"Hang in there! Dammit, it's like he was ran over by a truck! Ah! He's part of the archery club?! Then, Atalanta-chan will surely be pleased if I help him!"

(That's the wrong reason to help him. But rather, won't she be pissed at you for almost killing him?!)

Matthew would learn later from Serenity something her upperclassmen told her. Apparently, Achilles has had a crush on the current archery club captain ever since they were first years, but she had always rejected him for some reason.

Of course, romance made Matthew's highschool girl's heart go doki-doki, but somehow it didn't look like Achilles had any chance...

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

* * *

But while Matthew was busy running and being the straight man in her own club, somewhere else in the school, someone cried in despaire as the the end of the evening was coloring the world a deep orange.

"Everyone please stooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooop!"

To be more precise, this shout came from the dojo which was being used as an archery range for the archery club. And the one who let out this ultimate plea for peace and calm was one of the senior members or the club, Tawara Touta. But to explain why the third year student was in despair, we'd need to go back a little in time.

First, it should be known that Atalanta, the current club captain, wasn't in the archery range at the time and that was one of the reasons the situation got out of hand. But this also meant she had no hand in it and thus shouldn't be blamed for the incident. As the vice-captain Tawara should have been able to take care of it, but to his dismay he witnessed his utter lack of influence over the other club members. It was true that Atalanta had much more charisma as a club captain, but it was also true that most of the members were oddballs.

Everything started when some of the newer members were having trouble shooting with a bow for the first time, and had come to ask Tawara for advice. So far it was a normal occurence for a club and it could even be called a positive thing. After showing them how it was done and giving them a few advices, he decided to take a break. But as he did so, another member came to him to ask him to show them how to use a bow. This would have normaly be fine, but for record said club member was a third year and had been in the archery club since their first year of highschool.

"What have you been doing this whole time?!"

He had blurted out this obvious question as soon as the ridiculous demand had been voiced, but for some reason the other member simply tilted his head in confusion.

"Archery?"

It was at this moment Tawara started to suspect something was wrong with this club. He went to other club seniors ans asked them how they were doing with their bow.

"With my what?" Was the typical answer.

When his doubt was confirmed, Tawaran could already imagine the headache that would ensue if Atalanta found out, so he took it onto himself to teach all of the club archery before the captain came back. It was pretty much doomed to fail from the beginning, but he had hoped for a miracle. He couldn't leave the situation as-is anyway.

That's where things started to get out of hand.

He interrupted club activities and gathered all the club members to announce he'd have them all learn the basics of using a bow. Many were unhappy with the sudden decision and grumbled that they saw no reason to learn how to use a bow.

"Why don't you leave the club then?!"

Tawara had felt like giving up from the get-go, but eventually refused to give in to temptation. He had to be the adult and help them whether they wanted it or not. He did one mistake though: he spoke too much and said that someone who didn't know how to use a bow couldn't call themselves a member of the archery club. Several peole protested because it made it sound he was the best member of the club.

It was so wrong, on so many levels. But it became even weirder when someone suddenly raised the question of who was the best member. All of the senior members, aside from Tawara himself, claimed the title, and decided to organize a contest to see who was the very best. Tawara argued that it was the captain, but no one seemed to hear him.

And of course the results were catastrophic: not a single one of them could reach the target with a bow. One of them did, but he reached the outest zone. At this point Tawara had completely gave up, and thought the situation couldn't be worse. He was proved wrong once again, and some of the most trusted club members made him lose faith in the club.

The first had been David, who had proudly stepped forward to take up the challenge.

"I won't lose! Watch this!"

he reached the center of the target...using a slingshot.

"That's wrong! You're supposed to use a bow, a bow!"

"What do you mean?"

"This is archery! You're supposed to use a bow in archery!"

"What do you mean?"

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

The second had been a second year student named Proto Gilgamesh (apparently he was a relative of Gilgamesh-sensei's).

"Mongrels like you can't compare!"

He also reached the center...by throwing swords at the target. He had thrown dozens of them, so of course he'd hit the center at some point.

"Why are you doing this?! Do you hate me or something?! Use a damn bow already!"

"Tch! Why should we use a bow in the archery club?!"

"Why do you think it's called the 'archery' club?!"

"Huh? Isn't that obvious? It was named after our class of course! An archery club for the Archer-class!"

"This is wrong! It's the other way around! The other way around!"

The last nail to the coffin had been when it was Billy's turn.

"I am the strongest!"

He said as he drew a handgun and shot at the target. Normally, Tawara would have praised his skill with firearms, or asked why he had a firearm with him in the first place. But it was the straw which broke the camel's back, and all his frustration exploded at once.

"Everyone please stooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooop!"

Everyone was looking at him in wonder.

"This is no archery club! How did we even get past registration during last year's championship?!"

Though as he said that, he remembered it had always been he, Atalanta and the seniors at the time. It was a wonder how none of them had ever noticed how dysfunctional this club was.

"What have I been doing all these years! This isn't the archery club anymore! It's the madmen club!"

"Hmph!" Billy, which was still standing in front of the target, puffed at his misery. "You're just unhappy because I am the strongest!"

"I you're really the strongest then use a bow!" Tawara replied as he took away Billy's gun and thrusted his bow in the marksman's hands.

"Wh- What do you me to us this for!"

"Archery!"

"Nonsense!"

That was it. Tawara's last reserves of tsukkomi energy left him, and he started crying in a corner. Or at least he was about to do just that, when suddenly the wall of the archery range was blasted away by what seemed to be a hurrican. In truth, the 'hurrican' was the captain of the track & field club, Achilles, passing by but he was too fast to be seen.

"Bwuuooghh!"

But they all distinctively heard Billy's scream of pain. But the storm disappeared as fast suddenly as it had appeared, and when the dust fell down Billy was gone, and Tawara's bow with it.

"...My bow..."

"You don't need a bow-"

"Yes I do!"

This was bad. How did things come down to this? And Tawara had been watching the whole time and hadn't been able to do anything. Part of the archery range had been destroyed, a member had been mysteriously taken away by a natural disaster and most of the club didn't know how to use a bow. That was the end of the archery club.

"It's bad. It's seriously bad! When Atalanta-san comes back-"

"I'm already there though."

"Hya! A-Atalanta-san...T-this is, I mean, errrr..."

"Step aside."

Atalanta pushed Tawara aside with her left hand, holding her bow in her right. Tawara was relieved to see her here, since it meant the situation would go back to order. However he was curious as to why she had a bow in her right hand and an arrow in her left.

Then she suddenly raised her bow and fired the arrow in the sky all while spatting out loads of insults.

"Damn you, Achilles! Pervert! Idiot! Stop destroying people's club rooooooom!"

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!"

* * *

 **A Battle in the Setting Sun**

* * *

But not all students in Seihai High were in a club. Even though there was so much variety and exoticism in the school's clubs, some people just couldn't bring themselves to make the first step and join a club, some were still hesitating as to which club they should pick, and some didn't care at all. These students were all part of the 'go home' club.

Still, Matthew's delusion aside, it was true that club activities is an important part of a highschool student's life. That was why it was inevitable for this subject to be brought up when two members of the go home club, Robin and Arash, were discussing. It wasn't as much a discussion than Arash talking to a distracted Robin though.

The two friends were currently outside one of the club buildings, standing next to a tree while Robin was looking at something inside the building with his binocular.

"It's already been a few weeks, and we still haven't joined a club..."

"...A little bit to the right..."

"I was thinking of joining the archery club, since I'm quite good with a bow. What about you? If you have no idea, maybe we could enter the same club!"

"...I said to the right, not the left...!"

"Oi, are you listening, Robin-kun?"

"Yeah, yeah."

But Robin wasn't listening at all. All his attention, all his ressources and all his soul were focused on whatever was on the other side of those binocular, to the point where he couldn't hear pay attention to Arash's monologues.

"By the way, Robin-kun, what have you been looking at for a while? And why do you have binocular anyway?"

"I'm looking at the girls changing."

"..."

"Eh?- Oi, give me that back! I can't see anything without it!"

"No! Peeping is bad, Robin-kun! And this is an important matter!"

"What is?!"

"Wha- you haven't been listening?! I'm talking about the clubs! We can't do just go home after each day has ended, we need to do womething with our free time!"

"I know! Do you really think I've only been peeping since school resumed?! Don't underestimate me, Arash-kun! I already know which club I'm going to join!"

"You do?" Arash sighed in relief. "I see, I was wrong to worry about you, Robin-kun. When push come to shove, you're not just some pervert-"

"I'll join the legendary stalking club!"

"..."

"Don't give me that look!"

"No, wait. We had a stalking club?"

"Nothing will stop me in my eternal quest for my Shangri-la! With my stealth skills, nothing will stop me from taking all the pictures I want! Beware world: I may seem like a fool to you, but this is the birth of an eroge protagonist you're witnessing! Plus I heard the stalking club has a limitless budget for some reason."

In front of such nonsense and debauchery, of course Arash had no choice but to intervene; he couldn't give up on a friend!

Their friendship dated back to the first day. A friendship formed on the moment, forged through fire and lightning as strived to survive together each day. Arash sacrificing himself; Robin carrying him to safety. That's how they had lived for the past few weeks! That's how they overcomed the odds and built their friendship!

And so, there was no way, no way he could let his friend stray off the right path!

"Snap out of it, Robiiiin-kuuuuuuuunnnnnn!"

"Let- let go of meeeeeeee- arrrrrrrgh...gh.."

Even if he has to strangle hiiiiiiiiiiim!

"If you want to use your stealth, then go to a newspaper cluuuuuuuuuuub!"

"Kh..rh...you...you don't understaaaaaaannnnd! You asshole, you were made to be in the nice guy role! You sacrifice yourself, are admired, and I'm just the buttmonkey of it all! Plus you don't need binocular to look at girl from afar!"

"Like hell I would do thaaaaaaaaat!"

"Don't pretend you understand meeeeeeeeeeee! And let go of me already, you're gonna kill me!"

With a great dexterity and impressive gymnastic, Robin managed to get out of Arash's grip. It wouldn't be enough though, so he prepared himself to face Arash with all his might. The wind was screaming; the orange coloring of teh sky was starting to turn darker and darker. The two friends who shared the same food and pain by the past, were no ready to destroy each other for their beliefs.

"Robin-kun...please stop this foolishness! There's no need for us to fight like that!"

"Tch! There's no way in hell I will step back! This is now or never...I won't back down now that I can slay the fate forced upon me by this half-assed writer!"

"You're speaking nonsense again! If you refuse to calm down and to settle things peacefully, I'll have no choice...!"

"Fine! Since you can't see the truth in front of you, have at thee. It looks like it was fate that we have to fight today. But don't worry for I will avenge you by taking down faaaaaatee!"

As he uttered that final line, Robin dashed forward.

"Araaashhhhhhh!"

"Rooooobiiiiiiin!"

A flurry of attacks was unleashed. The two friends were around the same level in power, so it was a matter of who could land the first blow. However, at the moment, neither managed to even scratch his opponent as each hit was magnificently countered.

A boy fighting for his friend's well being.

A boy fighting back against the cruel fate.

As the two warriors danced, even though there was no one to witness their resolve, nothing could have possibly stopped them.

"Huh, you're not half bad, Arash-kun!"

Even as they spoke their assault didn't get any less relentless.

"I don't want to have to fight like this! Come back to your sense!"

"Is there nothing else you can say?! ' _Stop this nonsense_ ', ' _snap out of it_ ', I can't take it anymore! As if you could understand how it feels, to know you will never amount to anything more than what someone else decided for you! To just exist as a side character and to be the buttmonkey of all jokes! Do you understand?! Well, do youuuuuu?!"

Arash could feel Robin's attacks become faster and stronger the longer he talked. His friend was being powered by the energy of despair, or by convenient writing. But even if he stepped up his game, as long as Robin would deny any help on his part, there was nothing he could do. In those conditions, there was no logical way he could win.

But he wouldn't back down or surrender.

Because no matter how desperate Robin was, even if he wasn't only spouting nonsense, there was still one strong truth, an undeniable truth that Arash screamed with all his strength.

"It doesn't matteeeeeerrrrrrrr!"

"Nani?!"

"Even if you're right, you're in the wrong! I don't care what kind of fate we have: you're my friend! That fact will never change, even if we die and are reborn in another life, I'll still be your friend no matter what!"

"...!"

For an instant, only an instant, Robin's will wavered. But he had to get a grip on himself in order to dodge Arash's next attack. It was no good. If he let Arash talk any longer, he might lose his will to fight.

"I see. I will end this fight with the next attack in that case. Behold, Arash-kun, my stealth!" Suddenly, Robin vanished as if he had never been there.

"Wha- he wasn't lying about his stealth?!"

Arash looked alla round him in search for his friend, but the latter was of course nowhere to be seen.

It was better this way. Robin had no idea how he became self-aware, but this was a fight he had to win to earn his place as more than a slapstick comedy side character. The next attack would come from Arash's blind side, so there was no way he could avoid it.

It was the end.

(Sarabada, Arash-kun...)

This was farewell: Robin clenched his fist and unleashed an ultimate attack toward his friend from the front, where he couldn't possibly expect him to attack. The punch effectively reached Arash.

(Thank you for everything.)

"...heh."

"...!"

And yet, whose fist it was that came flying right into Robin's ribs? There were only two people here, so it could only be...

"A...Arash-kun...!?"

It was Arash, who didn't even wince from Robin's attack that was supposed to end the fight. No, instead he starring right at Robin, smiling confidently.

"Arash...how...?"

"Robin-kun, you big dummy..." Arash prepared another attack for Robin who had been immobilized by the previous one. "You didn't put any strength in that attack!"

"Wha...!"

No way...

"I see..." Robin sighed and smiled as the final attack was closing on his face. "I guess I really can't do this after all."

The sound of a punch resounding in the evening sky marked the end of the fight.

"Seriously, did we really have to do all that?" Arash sighed as he helped Robin stand up; "Anyway, what was that about being a side charater in a story? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"Oh, just some stupid stuff I dreamed about this night."

"You tried to hit me because of a dream?"

"Shut up. I'm just jealous of your Peeping Eyes skill!"

"I have no such skill!"

Thetwo of them laughed heartily, having learned a lesson from this clash. But little did they know, someone was watching them all along.

" _Perfect! You two pass! And the new costumes just arrived in the nick of time too!_ "

""Eh?"" The two of them looked around them in confusion.

There was no one else here, so where did the voice come from? Their eyes landed on the tree that was next to them. The tree that had been there all this time.

And, without any warning, the tree opened its mouth to swallow them whole.

""AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH?!""

" _Welcome, gentlemen, in the World Domination Club._ "

* * *

 **The Chairman's Notes**

 **Galahad**

 **Stats:**

 **Litterature: B**

 **Math: A**

 **P. E: B**

 **Sciences: C**

 **Economics: A**

 **Skills:**

 _ **Charisma:**_ **Definitely the aura of a student council president. I can trust him to take care of things.**

 _ **Instinct:**_ **His Mordred sense is tingling!**

 _ **Chosen One**_ **: Unanimously elected student council president.**

 **Overall:**

 **An excellent student and an excellent student council president. I'm a bit worried for his health though. But hopefully with that new student around he won't have to deal with Mordred-kun too much.**

 **Please Mordred-kun, this is for your own good.**

 **P.S: If only he showed some interest in adult magazines, we could have some great discussions...**

* * *

 _Thank you for reading!_

 _Boy, it had been a while since I wrote a chapter for this serie. Anyway,a serie of short stories to put the spotlight on other characters for once._

 _Though, that last short story...I have no idea how it came to this. That's not what I had originally planed, but after writing the fight I just couldn't remove it. I have no regret._

 _And no, I have no qualms writing so many cheesy lines._

 _Once again, thank you for reading! Don't hesitate to comment, ask a question or review._

 _~Legends Storyteller_


	5. Let's Go on a Special Mission!

_**Previously, in Fate/Seihai High!:**_

 **Edison & Georges:We're disrespecting at least half existing human rights!**

 **Nursery Rhyme:ONEEEECHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-**

 **Kirei Cook: Yorokobe shoujo. Kimi no Mapo Tofu wa youyaku kanau.**

 **Nightingale: You can(not) escape!**

 **Achilles: I go fast. Not because I want to. _But because nobody else will._**

 **Tawara: A bow, motherfucker, do you use it?!**

 **Robin Hood: I'm not just a slapstick comedy character!**

 **Arash: Of course you are!**

 **Tree-chan: Chomp.**

 _ **This time on Fate/Seihai High!:**_

Neither of them had had the time to process what was happening as they were gobbled up by the school garden tree that was just standing there. It had looked harmless; it had looked benevolent. It was the tree that they trusted, the tree they had confined in, the tree they had believed in! The tree that had warmed them in winter, the tree that had carrid them on its shoulder, the tree that was looking after each generation of Seiahi High students...!

Actually, no, it was just some good'ol dry tree withering somewhere in an inconspicuous place nobody really cared about, and it was something to notice its existence when it was in such a discreet spot. But the point was, it really didn't look like much more than a tree.

And then, at the conclusion of their episode of muscular friendship, just when the ending song was supposed to kick in it had opened its merciless maw (if that made sense for a tree) and with a jaw strength like a crocodile's it had swallowed them ruthlessly. What a horrifying sight this was. First of all, seeing the tree open in half, with something like a mouth and teeth coming out of nowhere, and then watching this new void trying to eat them alive, and succeeding at that. This vision was forever burned inside Robin's retina and heart as the sight of hell itself.

And then came the fall.

""AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- OUCH!""

They fell down a long, deep, cold, endless, scary, evil, eerie, infernal, egregious, eurythmic, kickstarted, vegan, fortitudinous, dashing, anti-constitutional hole that entered the depth of earth, holding probably many secrets and mysteries that would be like seering flames to human eyes. They screamed their heart out as they fell, having the reassuring sensation of the firm ground below their feet taken away in a matter of second, being betrayed by the lack of light, and wholesomely terribly confused at what was actually happening.

After what was both an eternity of screaming and yet at the same time a blink of an eye of wetting their pants, they made a strong first meeting with a just as long, deep, cold, endless, scary, evil, eerie, infernal, egregious, eurythmic, kickstarted, vegan, fortitudinous, dashing, anti-constitutional _and_ hard floor. It was so sudden, that moment when the sensation of falling was instantly swapped for intense pain. Robin landed in a very unfortuitous position that would probably have been very comic if the door to a whole new world of pain hadn't been opened to him with a red carpet. At any rate, he'd probably have a very shrill voice for a while. As for Arash, Robin couldn't see him because of the surrounding darkness and the pain that was clouding his judgement, but he had heard a very ominous sound of something breaking right next to him.

He tried to call his soul friend with all his might, which wasn't very much considering the present situation:

" _A...Arash-kun...! Can you hear me!_ "

"Ah...aaaaaa...can't move...tree will get me...aaaarrrghh..."

" _Arash-kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnn!_ "

"...ugh...shrill voice...annoying..."

" _Kh...! If that's how you answer my concern then you can die for all I care!_ "

"Ah...I see a river...I can see people waving on the other side..."

" _Wait, don't actually die on me! Arash-kun!_ "

"...shr...ill...voooooi..."

" _Arash-kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnn!_ "

He had to help him somehow! But how?! The pain was so intense, Robin wasn't sure he could get up and walk right now. In the first place, he couldn't see anything so he was more likely to trip on Arash and worsen his internal damages by unfortunately falling on him of all place. So the best solution was to crawl on the floor. But to do that, Robin would first need to resume a lying position, a.k.a. quit doing the splits by falling on his side.

" _Okay, here we go Robin. Take a deep breath and...!_ "

Here we go! Robin pushed himself off this contortionist's position with his shaking, unsure hands. Thinking about it, he didn't determine which side he was falling down, right?

"Bgffff!"

" _Arash-kun!_ "

A last death rattle left Arash's mouth huriedly as Robin's whole weight met with his torso. Dammit, why did I have to unfortunately land on him of all place!

As he was lying on his dying best friend's torso, the poor injured boy place a hand on his chest to mkae sure his heart was still beating. But what he touched was utterly terrifying: everywhere above stomach level, Arash's body was covered on a hot liquid that stuck to Robin's hand.

" _That's, salliva right? Tell me it's salliva! Actually no, that would be disgusting! But at least tell me it's not blood! Tell me it's not blood! Arash, say something please!_ "

"..."

 _NooooOOOOOOoooooooooooOOOOOOoOOooOOoOoooooo! I killed him, I just finished him! What sould I do, what should I do?! Should I hide the body?!_ "

Whoa there, bad idea! Why would he hide the body when he's not even the one who mortally wounded him?! And he didn't know where the hell he was to begin with, how was he supposed to hide anything?! Then what? Then what?! He couldn't call the police or an ambulance either since he didn't know where he was. And in fact, wasn't their fall pretty long? How deep underground were they? Could anybody even reach his phone when he was here?!

Speaking of which, where was 'here'?

Wherever Robin and Arash had landed, it was pitch dark and no matter how much time passed his eyes just won't adapt to it. For a place that was located underground, it was surprisingly warm, so it must have had a heating system, which meant it wasn't just some kind of prison or deadly dumping place. But then again, that wasn't much information concerning their situation. Hell, maybe it was just a comfy deadly dumping place and they would be LEFT TO ROT HERE FOR ALL ETERN-

 _Clack!_

Just as worries were piling up inside his confused mind, something happened: the world lit up in a blazing light, buring his eyes. In other words, someone switched on the light just when he was beginning to grow accustomed to the dark.

" _Ooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwww!_ " And with that he lost yet another vital function of his body, and the earned the pain that came with it. He was almost getting used to it. " _That's not something I want to get used to!_ "

Why did the room light up all of sudden?! Robin hadn't moved at all, so it couldn't be reacting to movements. Then, it was voluntarily activated by somebody. Was it the time for a screen to pipi up on the wall, telling them they were prisoners?!

But what awaited him was much more unexpected: a door opened violently with much clatter, and a strange sillhouette stepped into the room. Robin's heart jumped in his chest and threatened to stop alltogether when he saw the face of the person who had come to see them; simply put, he couldn't see it at all. Whomever had come was apparently a male school student judging from the uniform, but he couldn't tell his features at all because his head was hidden inside a pyramid-shaped helmet covering absolutely everything. Actually, it was hard to tell if the pyramid wasn't actually his head. And in the middle, unblinking, there was a single eye that seemed to swallow up everything within its sight.

In other words, it was _that_ pyramid.

"Hahahahaha!" With a verily thunderous laugh which was borderline theatrical, he spread his arms wide and was apparently about to make a speech. "Welcome in my humble abode, young lambs who have found the lig-..."

And then the words froze in his mouth. Just like Robin-kun actually. Neither could be blamed truthfully: Robin was already going through a lot at the moment, and this sight was abusing his mental health. On the other side, what the newcomer found upon walking into this room, which was _his_ personal headquarters, was a boy lying in a pool of his own blood while another was lying on the former's chest in a position that was rather compromising in more than one way, and staring back at him aghast.

Seconds went by. Or was it minutes? There was nobody here who could tell. As time went on, beads of sweat started to appear on Robin's forehead and ran down his face. The same thing happened with the pyramid-headed student, except the sweat was forming on the pyramid's surface.

And finally, it happened.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH-"

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH-_ "

The mysterious student immediatly reached for the light switch and plunged the room in the dark once more. Then he tried to run away, but in his confusion his feet got tangled together and he fell down. In the wrong direction.

"Bffgghf!"

" _Bffgghf!_ "

And sadly he unfortunately landed on Robin and Arash of all place.

 _"Aaaah! We're under attack! Go away, go away, I'm not even tasty! Begone, demoooooonnn!_ "

"Uwoooooo! Get the hell away from me! W-what the hell happened in this place!? Actually I don't want to know, don't tell me! Get away from me! Aaaaah!"

Both were screaming in the dimness of the room, as well as struggling like autistic monkeys to puch the other away from them, which only resulted in them getting more and more tangled together.

" _Murderer! Rapist! Police, help! You may take my heartbeat, but you'll never break my soul!_ "

"W-what's going on! What are you saying! I just went to the bathroom one minute and was ready to make a dynamic entrance, but what the hell in this situation! Murderer! Rapist! Police, help! There's a homo with a shrill voice who killed a man in my secret base!"

" _Who're you calling a homo?! And you're the killer, you irresponsible piece of shit! And don't point out my voice!_ "

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH-"

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH-_ "

* * *

 **Chapter IV: Let's go on a special mission!**

* * *

It took time, efforts, and an unlikely amount of willpower for them to calm down, but they manage to more or less. The best solution they had found was to keep a good ten meters at least between the two of them. By now, Robin was pretty much still laying at the same place as before, though now the pain was mostly gone and he could sit down with his leg crossed in a buddhist fashion. As for the Mysterious Student(tm), he was sitting in a large, comfy-looking revolving chair in front of a huge computer and looking at them while crossing his legs in a bossy fashion.

"..."

"..."

And of course, there was that awkward silence between them. In fact, it was unimaginable that there would be no such thing, as both were just now scarred in the deepest part of their heart (which wasn't all that deep all thing considered). They weren't getting anywhere though, and Arash's blood was darkening by the minute. In fact, was he even still breathing? He didn't think to check...

" _...so, why did you kidnap us?_ "

"I didn't kidnap anybody..."

" _...fine then, why did you bring us here?!_ "

"I'm glad you asked!" With a sudden rebound of energy, the Mysterious Student(tm) sprang out of his chair and stood up straight before spreading out his arms in the exact same way as he had done half an hour ago. "Welcome in my humble abode, young lambs who-"

" _You know it doesn't really work anymo-_ "

"SHUT UP!"

"..."

"...Ahem." He cleared his throat and resumed his (rather lonely by this point) performance."Welcome in my humble abode, young lambs who have found the light! For so long you have searched, stumbled and hit you head in the dark!"

" _It wasn't really the head..._ "

"BUT AT LAST, you've glimpsed the truth! You've made a choice for yourself! I, Adam Weishaupt, have witnessed your hardship and endeavor in escaping your fate as a butt monkey who's only good for suffering!"

" _No, I'm pretty sure I was talking bullcrap. And, you just insulted me didn't y-_ "

"THEREFORE, I have decided that you were ripe for picking and have summoned you in this sacrosanct sanctuary of truth in order to do you a favor!"

" _See? You're talking rubb-_ "

"NOW COME!" Adam (who was now closer to Ridiculous Student(tm) than anything) held out his hand toward the two, although one was eyeing him with a great amount of distrust, and the other couldn't see him anymore. "Come and join me in my endeavor to conquer the world, and guide it with the light of truth! Yes, become members of the World Domination Club as my minions!"

" _..._ "

"..."

" _..._ _No._ "

"Huh?! W-w-w-w-whyyyy!? Event after I went through the trouble of watching your dumb fight!"

" _This sounds way too shady and unreal at the same time! A World Domination Club? What kind of chuunbiyo crap is that?! What do you even do in that kind of club?!_ "

"...We conquer the world."

" _Right, thought so, you guys do nothing_ _with your life._ "

"That's not true! I have a thought-out, elaborate plan with many steps that I shall not display to just any shrill-voiced ungrateful bastard! And do you think you're one to talk Mr. I-Wanna-Join-The-Stalking-Club?!"

" _Wh-! This has nothing to do with anything! Stalking is a pure activity that consists of pursuing your dreams from the shadows! Whether it's illegal or looked down, it is a passion that rewards those who are_ _d_ _etermined and pure of heart!_ "

"That's the spirit! But you're putting it in the wrong place! What would you prefer: staying low in the shadow, unapreciated and abashed, or standing at the top with the world at your feet!"

" _You know, that doesn't sound very convincing coming from the mysterious guy who lives in a basement, in secret and probably has no social life. In fact, I'm sure you have no fame at all! You just brought us here because you're lonely, didn't you?!_ "

"(Well, it's true that the student council is threatening of shutting down my club if I don't find more members) I do have a social life! In fact, my club's super famous on Seihai-Kun, just you check it!"

Seihai-kun was a social network which had gained a lot of fame and popularity as of late. It had become rare to find anybody who didn't have an account on it. One particular features that made its popularity explode is the possibility of asking the mascot (a creepy-looking unidentified object who was also uncomprehensibly popular) for advices on pretty much any field, advices which turned out to be pretty useful. Although admittedly Robin had never tried it for himself. Another feature which had made a name for itself was the possibility of hading stickers to you posts. The most beloved by users was the one representing a knife stabbing into the floor, for whatever reason.

By the way, it sharing the same name as their highschool was apparently a huge coincidence.

At any rate, that Adam psycho had made such a declaration with an air of confidence, as if imposing a challenge on Robin. The latter, although reluctantly, did reach for his phone, expecting not to have any connection at all. But, lo and behold, he met absolutely no resistance when trying to load Seihai-kun. Actually, this undergoud secret room had sucha good connection he just had to wonder who was paying for it!

By the way, what username was he supposed to look for? Adam's directly, or should he type 'World Domination Club'? He could probably ask the owner of said account, but the pyramid-headed bastard was busy spining his revolving chair around while twittering an annoying 'yohohoho' laugh, apparently celebrating a precocious victory.

(Well, don't sell the bear's skin before you caught the bear!)

'World Domination Clib' was his best guess, so he went with it. And sure enough he found only one result, with a certain pyramid as the avatar. And as soon as he checked the number of followers, Robin was flabbergasted and a chill ran down his back.

(Wh-! Is the entire town following this asshole or what?! Ugh, and that stupid air of superiority he's giving is pissing me off! Grr, what kind of posts does he even write?!)

 _ **Post from WDC:** Hey guys, just read the new 'My Little Sister can't Possibly want to Mana Transfer' Volume! Love that serie, I'm sure an anime adaptation is on the way! wwwwwwwwwwwwww #Worlddomination #secret_society_are_the_best #HL3_when?_

 _ **Post from WDC:** tfw when ur thinkin of buliding weapons of mass destruction but ur uranium shipment gets sunk. #Worlddomination #sadfrog_

 _ **Post from Cristopher_Columbus:** Where da fuk am I? #MaybeIndia #MaybeChina #Slavery_

 _ **Post from WDC:** **Cristopher_Columbus** Go home Colombus, ur drunk again._

And finally there was an information post about a studio being shut down after the filming crew broke into someone's house.

" _That has absolutely nothing to do with world dominatiiiiiiiiiiiooooooooooooooooon! And how can you call yourself a real mastermind when you're so damn open about your objectives on a freaking social network!?_ "

"Eh? It doesn't have nothing to do with the great plan! I'm just starting with popular dominion, after wha physical conquest will be much easier!"

" _Popular dominion? Okay, you have a lot of followers on Seihai-kun, but that doesn't make Mr. Popular McLoved. And you're mostly mimicking a urban legend._ "

"I'm mimicking nothing at all! I am the real founder of Illuminati, hmph! And anyway, I don't need you to tell me I'm not popular enough yet; this is just the first step. The next one is to achieve global fame and interest, but to do that I need henchmen. And that's where you guys come into play!"

" _And that's where I refuse! And in the first place I need to take Arash-kun to a hospital, before the nurse finds out! I don't have the time to play evil minion right now!_ "

"And that's fine!...Is what I would probably have said in the beginning but now you've pissed me off! I can't let you get away without tasting revanche first, so I'm enrolling you with force."

" _Pfff._ " Robin guffawed. With all this intense bickering, any fear he had of Adam and of his pyramid head were long since gone. " _And what can you do exactly? What, you're gonna text on Seihai-kun? You can't even pull something a real secret society would do._ "

"Well, first I begin with blackmail."

" _Wait, what?_ "

"This room is under constant surveillance by camera equiped with infrared vision. If you guys don't listen to me I'm gonna post the whole scene that happened before I came back (I still don't want to know what happened by the way) on Seihai-kun."

" _W-wait a second, you assh-_ "

"You better call me President from now on, as well."

" _No, that's-_ "

"And now, it's about time you have a taste of my power! Mwahahahahahahahahaha **cough!** **cough!** hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Come forth, nanomachines!"

Adam did a 180 degree rotation on his chair and began typing frenetically on his computer's weyboard, at an almost hypnotical pace. As soon as he did, something moved around in the room before it sprang from the shadow to assault Robin and Arash who layed there defenselessly. Robin's best guess would have been rats (considering this was an underground complexe) but the shadowy opponent looked more like a potato bag's worth of a black sand. Needless to say, there was nothing he could do in his situation to avoid contact.

From all sides, the helpless highschool boys were overwhelmed and swallowed up by the wave of black grains, until they were entirely covered in them. Robin thought his final moments had finally come, after many a hardship had stepped into his way and left their scar on his soul and body. After the realization that his existence was pitiful one, after a climatic fight with his best friend, after falling to his demise alongside him, after Arash had left this cruel world, and after noticing this enumeration probably evoked events that were far from the ridiculous truth. Even though he fought so hard, even though he kept going is spite of the pain, even though he'd do a dramatic inner monologue each time he was in a pinch, was that truly how he'd end?! Killed by a childish chuunbyou wearing a preposterous cardboard (probably) pyramid in guise of mask?!

No.

By the time he finished this internal monologue, Robin realized such an egregious fate had not befallen his person, not yet. Instead, he opened his eyes – which he had tightly shut beforehand – only to realize he was feeling...constricted, if anything. It was as though he had put clothes that were too tight for him, and he could feel something weight slightly on his head and shoulder.

He was covered in something.

"How is it, how is it~?" Adam clapped his hand gleefully. "This shall hereby be your costumes as my minions! How do you like it?"

" _What...what did you make me put on, you basta-_ "

"President!"

" _Huh?_ "

"You have to call me President from now on!"

" _Like hell, I still don't agree with your shenanigans!_ "

"Fine then." Adam heaved a sigh and shrugged his shoulders. "Nanomachines!"

He called out to the quadrillions of ebony black seed in much the same way he did before, and following this Robin felt his body move on his own. No, actually it was a different feeling from uncontrolable moment, as he could clearly feel something forcing his hand into a fist and slamming it right into his cheekbone.

" _Ouch! Wh-what is this suit!? I can't move correctly inside this thing!_ "

"Mwahahahahahaha **cough cough** hahahahahaha! Your minion costume is made of nanomachines developed by yours truly! In other words, your are under my control physically, and soon you shall bow to your President!" Having said that, Adam took out a body-sized miror from somewhere inside the room and brought it in front of Robin. "By the way, this is what it looks like."

"... _! What is this!? This is egregious! This is ridiculous! This is madness!_ "

With much horror and apprehension, Robin saw a figure refleted onto the surface of the mirror, which he had a hard time recognizing as himself. In a matter of seconds, he had been made to look like a childish chuunbyou wearing a preposterous nanomachines (apparently) pyramid in guise of mask! A skin-tight body suits that seemed to have been designed by a child, a briefs that were put on _above_ the body suit, and a large evil-looking (read: laughable) cape that must have been unpractical to wear by all means. To add insult to injury, the pyramid didn't look quite as cool as Adam's (as reluctant as Robin was to admitt it) and was instead closer to a WcDonal's(tm) toy on the spectrum of good looks.

"Yeah, I had originally planned on having you wear a badass costume, the kind that strike fear into your opponents' heart and would appear in a Christopher Nolan movie. But no, mister thought it would be better to incure my unbridled rage, well mister will go on his missions in this improvised costume instead!"

" _Quit_ _your crap_ _! I'd rather die than have to wear this!_ "

Which was already happening anyway, seeing how he could feel part of his dignity and happiness dying an agonizing death. Which was probably the evil mastermind's plan in the great scheme of things. He probably intended to use humiliation to break his spirit. But he would not let himself do this time!

" _Strike evil with your fist! Uwoooooooooooo-_ "

"Nanomachines!"

 _PUNCH!_

" _Ouch!_ "

"Then, now that you've learnt your lesson it is about time for you to embark on your first mission, O minions! Without further ado, you must go and increase the popularity of our organization beyond what it is for now!"

" _Wh...wait...!_ " Robin wanted to protest from the bottom of his heart and with all his being, but barely had the thought of it crossed his mind that the latter became blurry and shaky,a nd he could feel his consciousness slipping away from him. " _At least...telll us...what we're supposed to do...!_ "

And then, everything faded to black.

How much time passed after that? Of course he would be unable to tell since he was on a trip inside the world of fancy reveries. Yet, when one wakes up from their slumber, they usually have either the feeling of having slept forever, or the sensation of scarcely having had the time to blink. In Robin's case, it was the latter as when the fog weighting on his eyes and mind dissipated he had the strange impression of having been transported immediatly.

The first external sensation to reach him was the hardness of the floor, but of a different kind than back in the World Domination Club clubroom. The latter's had been cold and metallic whereas Robin was currently lying on a warmer, rougher surface. The second thing was sound: as his consciousness came back his ears were filled with an annoying hustle and bustle, that of many voices whispering around him and of car horns blowing furiously.

As you could understand from that description, and as Robin was quick to realize with terror in his heart, he was currently lying in the middle of the street. As soon as he understood this, a a chill ran through his body from head to toe and he immediatly tried to stand up. A hurried action if anything, hence why he was only able to turn around and rest the weight of his aching body on his elbows. Looking at his surrounding, the situation was worse than he had thought: not only were they on the street, but they were lying down on the road!

Cars had stopped in order not to crush them, but now they had caused a trafick jam to form and people were getting impatient. On both side of the street, on the sidewalks, masses of curious people had been attarcted by the sight and news of two men in costume sprawled in utmost unconsciousness in the middle of the road.

Looks of wonders and stares of apprehension were piercing Robins from all sides, while the flash of many a mobile phone was immortalizing his shame. And the worst part was, he could empathize with them more than he could with himself. A solution!

There had to be a solution!

The first step was to get away from here, but Arash was still (dead)unconscious, and he was no lightweight. Nonetheless, it was something he ahd to do, for the sake of friendship, and for the sake of avoiding further public shaming.

Thus he dragged the (dead)unconscious body of his best friend from their initial position to the nearest sidewalk. Upon his approach, the mass of eyewitness parted in two like the Red Sea, with mixed reaction of fear, incomprehension and intrisical rejection.

Then, all of sudden Robin noticed something. In the midst of the sea of unknown faces, like a sunray piercing through the black storm clouds, a familiar face surfaced. Well,a ctually it wasn't all that familiar, but Robin was sure to recognize it: short whitish hair, and those glasses...it had to be that Mashu girl who is in the Saber class! He had heard the rumors about her, about how she was strong enough to swim in the river and to jump off trains. She even beat up Beowulf-senpai, or so he had heard on Seihai-kun (though he gave little credit to such a rumor).

" _Ma-Mashu-san. No, Mashu-sama!_ " With relief in his heart, the feeling of salvation falling in a shower on his wounds. " _Please save us!_ "

He extended his hand.

And she took a step back.

" _..._ "

The look of absolute disgust and rejection on her face left no doubt as to the meaning of it. The coldness in her eyes froze poor Robin's heart, and he dared not reach his hand further out, lest he'd be broken.

"...Your shrill voice's annoying."

"..."

Something definitely did break though.

* * *

" _Damn it all..._ "

Seeing that no other option would be laid out in front of him, Robin had taken the most reasonable choice, which was to run away with Arash. What he needed the most was a safe haven where he could think in peace without people staring holes into him. His pride had already been shattered, so at least they could spare him that, for Heavens' sake!

He had eventually found such a tempirary sanctuary in the presence of a back alley that was hardly ever visited by anyone, be it respectable people or less respectable ones. Here in Burushitto city, thugs and delinquent were actually quite well organized: in terms of teritory the city was split into four between the four main gangs, which so happened to belong to four different schools. As it stood, Seihai High was located in the westernest part of Burushitto city, and thus controlled that area.

Then again, the usual concept of delinquents did not apply to Seihai High, as the school grounds were already like another planet entirely. Simply put, the students of Seihai High are like brothers in arms who fight their way through each day and forge strong bonds along the way (or so he had been told, but Robin himself would rather stay away from most of these people). Incidentally, the students also developped an expectation for danger and sought to gain more strength and power through trials, which led to the apparition of individual who were the closest to delinquents Seihai High could offer.

In other words, they were just people who liked fighting and did hesitate to do so when they came across people of similar taste and culture. The school's Fight Club (why not just fighting club?) constituted the major offender, and its president Beowulf-senpai was considered as the representant of Seihai High in street battles. That was not entirely true though, and anyone stepping on school grounds would know for a fact that the entire school was hazardeous to health.

But that was a story for another time.

The northernest portion of the city was ruled by a gang of pious delinquents whose goal was apparent to convert others through the use of their fists. They had the backing of the local church, and were apparently protected by God, so they were redoutable. Their headquarters were located in an uptight all girl catholic school.

The southernest area was under the yoke of quadriumvira who claim to carry the torch of the Roman Empire, and they have a lot of popularity despite constantly back-stabbing each other whenever they had the occasion. They didn't have only one main base, instead having at least one per leader, which explained

Finally, the easternest region of Burushitto city was the most dangerous for students from Seihai high, for it was under the absolute control of their most heinous and hereditary rival: Sensou High. It is said that when one declares war upon the other, terrible, unthinkably violent fights occur for some obscur reason, and it is often compared to battles such as Verdun or Stalingrad. The actual reason for their mutual hostility was shrouded in mystery however.

The bottom line of this long explaination that seemed to have nothing to do with Robin's situation, was that these matters were complicated and that alliances and safe zones were of course an important part of it. And it was such a safe zone – located not far from the New Roman Empire's territory – that Robin had reached while courageously carrying his fallen comrade.

" _Now, what am I supposed to do...?_ "

The situation was critical, if anything. Night was falling so the best option would have been to go home by now since safety decreases during night time. Obviously, that was impossible if only because of the unexpected factor the suit was. As soon as he had found a place where no eyes would catch a glimpse of him, he searched all over his goofy uniform for a zipper of some sort, or maybe a button that would allow him to get rid of the hateful clothing. Alas, nothing of the sort could be found.

As expected Adam was the only person capable of removing the nanomachines, the same way he had them capture Robin and Arash in the blink of an eye. This was a clever and bastardly plan to prevent any escape: no one in their right mind would dare go home or even appear in public in these costumes, not to mention there was visibly no way to eat with these stupid pyramid heads. In a word like in a hundred, as long as Robin didn't do what was asked of him by that accursed President, he couldn't actually do anything.

His life was not worth wasting just to piss off some creeps with access to advanced technology, so he Robin gave up on his useless resistance and set out to accomplish the 'mission' Adam had mentioned.

But just what might that be?

" _He just threw us out there without any indication, without orders. Not even a hint. That damn pyramid..._ "

The troops had already suffered a great amount of physical _and_ psychological damage, so any unreasonable request would only worsen his situation and dampen what little motivation he had.

" _Hmm, ah! That's it! He mentioned his Seihai-kun account before, so maybe he's left some hint about our mission in one of his posts!_ "

Ironically, this sudden epiphany was probably the best thing that had happened to his this day.

Without losing a second, Robin reached for his phone (which was in one of the suit's many pockets somehow) and immediatly opened Seihai-kun to take a peak at the WDC account. Robin felt his heart jump in his chest when he saw there had been several new posts ever since he saw it last. No less than ten of them! Surely, this was meant to be a test, an ordeal hidding a clue for his freedom.

 _ **Post from WDC:** Lolololol there were 2 morons sleeping on the road LMAO_

Accompagning the charming and flavorful comment was an actual picture of two people lying down in a rather ridiculous fashion in the middle of the pavement while wearing preposterous suits and-

" _Wait, that's us! What the- you asshole piece of-_ "

All ten posts were the exact same, except each time the picture was in a different angle as though to add salt in Robin's wounds and then spread sulfur on them. Of course, each of them had Adam making unsavory comments.

" _This little...! He wasn't supposed to post anything if we complied, right?! Kh!_ "

But with this, he had proved he wouldn't hesitate to use public shaming if need be. Truly a foe to be reckoned with. Robin vowed himself to complain about it later, and returned to looking for a clue as to what he was supposed to do. First he looked at the pictures with great scrutiny. However this only proved to hurt him further and he abandoned this track. That's when he noticed that he had received a private message from an anonymous user. That was fishy enough in his book, not to mention 'Anonymous' was actually the guy's pseudonyme (it was impossible to do anything on Seihai-kun if you weren't a 'Master', a.k.a. a user).

Upon opening the message he could immediatly idnetofy who it was who had sent it and with what purpose:

 _ **PM from Anonymous:** Mwahahahahahaha! I hope you liked that glimpse of my true power, minions! Now, how does it feel to be the sleaze of society, huh?! Buuuuut since I am a misericordious President, your identities are safe...for now._

 _At any rate, I didn't send you out there just to make you feel my unbridled rage. I have an important mission for the two of you. If you fail...well, you most likely died trying to accomplish it with utter devotion._

" _Wait, what is this about dying! That's scary, I don't want to go!_ "

 _Is what I'm sure you'll say with that ridiculous voice of yours, and I don't care! As you probably know, some months ago a shipment of uranium belonging to me was sunk by some moron, and I had to move Heaven and Earth to get the damn product to Japan. At the time I'm messaging you, it should have reached Burushitto city so all that is left to do is get our hands on it._

 _BUT!_

 _We won't get it for free. The guy I asked for shipping will be waiting at a rendez-vous point we decided between us. On our end we have to bring what he asked for. The location of the exchange will be communicated to you idiots once you have your hands on his payment._

 _Your mission, whether you accept it or not, is to use your legs and go pick it up at the designated location. You don't need to know what it is (and you don't want to know), all ya need to know is that it is contained inside a fuschia pink suitcase. Take the suitcase with you and contact me once you have secured it._

 _You'll find the briefcase at a Chinese restaurant, the 'Millenium Spice'. You guys are big boys so you should be able to find it, right?_

" _That asshole..._ " Robin cursed, for the nth time today. If one could attract more misfortune the more they complained, maybe he could explain his bad luck scientifically.

Of, and the private message also contained yet another picture of Robin and Arash, this time in a much more compromising position.

" _F#ck you!_ "

"Ugh..noisy..."

" _Huh? Arash-kun, you're alive?!_ "

As he was busy deciding whether or not he wanted to throw his phone as hard as he could against the nearest hard surface, Robin heard a voice he hadn't thought he would hear ever again. When he turned around, for sure it was Arash (in the ridiculous suit) standing there as if by miracle, in spite of the deadly injuries he sustained. Now that Robin thought about it, he always died but got better the moment after. At this rate the word 'death' will lose all its meaning and its gonna sue him in court.

"Ugh...my head...huh?"

Arash moved his arm to his head, apparently unaware of his get up, only to touch the side of the pyramid helmet, and his confusion reflected in his voice. Actually, he got brought in this gigantic mess while he was unconscious, right?

That sucked.

That'd probably feel like waking up after a night at Las Vegas only to find you're engaged now. Robin couldn't let his friend experience such a trauma, so he'd have to pick his words carefully when explaining what transpired between him and Adam Weishaupt.

" _Calm down, Arash-kun. You see, this is a very complexe situation but I cann assure you th-_ "

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

" _Huh? Wh-what the matter?!_ "

When Arash screamed in terror so suddenly, Robin almost had a heart attack. After screaming though, nothing: he simply stared at Robin worldlessly, and the latter did the exact same while tension begun to rise in the air between the two of them.

"..."

"..."

The thing was, neither of them knew how to react; they were frozen in motion like two frightened anomals, waiting to see how the other would react and getting more uncomfortable by the second.

"..."

"..."

Finally, to Robin's relief Arash was teh first to speak up, although that relief was short-lived.

"...Who are you?"

" _...Excuse me?_ "

"Wh-what do you want from me?! I don't have any money, and my family isn't rich so you won't get any interesting ransom from them!"

" _Wait, that's not it!_ "

"Then what?!" He suddenly held his body like an embarrased schoolgirl, which was quite disturbing in and of itself. "Don't tell me...it is me you want?! You want my body, pervert?!"

" _No!_ " Robin had to put an end to it before the situation got out of hand. " _It's me! Don't you recognize me?_ "

"I won't fall for such a half-baked scam, you con artist!"

" _I'm not a con artist! It's me, Robin!_ "

"Liar! You voice doesn't even sound like his!"

Ah.

So that was the problem. Hey, wasn't that joke overused already? No? Well then...

" _That's...I can explain! I don't want to but I can explain, so just let me-_ "

"And Robin-kun wouldn't wear that kind of shady disguise!"

" _..._ "

That was true. Then again, he hadn't gotten much of a choice unfortunately.

At any rate, Arash wouldn't let himself be convinced, not with this unreal context that worked against Robin's most earnest efforts. But there was a fool-proof technique! Just like in all those series, it was easy to prove his real identity by disclosing informations only the real Robin would know!

" _Then I'll go and tell you everything about me, that way you'll know I'm the real Robin!_ "

"You monster! I bet any information you'll throw at me were tortured out of him! What did you do to him, you heartless tormentor?!"

" _Oh, for f#ck's sake! Okay, now I'm not gonna bother and just immobilize you until you calm down!_ "

"Don't get close to me! No, stay away! Police, help! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

* * *

It has taken a tremendous amount of effort to convince Arash, who had suddenly found himself in the most confusing position in the world, that Robin was, indeed, Robin. The actual process of convincing him shall be left out here, as it is indeed too long to include, and would probably appear as non-sensical anyway. Let's just say it involved nanomachines wrestling, a copious amount of tissues and an undisclosed quantity of breakfast cereal.

But at last, they were united as one again and together they suffered. It had taken well over an hour for Robin to achieve that result; by now night had completely fallen and the street lights had taken over this world. Just a short while ago they had been inside a public playground, doing a pony ride together. That was also the point where they ran out of breakfast cereal, and eventually a police officer came to them because they looked extremely suspicious, and they had no choice but to leave.

Now that they were hitting the streets once again (this time with less people around, for better or for worse), Arash finally asked Robin the crucial question:

"What now?"

"..."

Robin hadn't explained the whole situation to him yet – namely, what Adam was asking of them and by extension the reasin behind their present plight. How was he even supposed to do that? Being straightforward was probably the best solution, as beating around the bush wouldn't set them free any faster.

"We have to get our hands on uranium."

"..."

"Wait, wait wait! I think I forgot the important part here!"

The best course of action was to get down to business as soon as possible; in other words, head for that 'Millenium Spice' or whatever, get the suitcase and wait for further instruction. Once they were done with all of that, they could pretend it never happened.

"Damn, normally that'd be the moment where we try to answer the kidnapper's demand while the police tails us. But I think any policeman would just laugh at us by that point."

" _For some reason I'm convinced a lot of people are laughing at us for afar..._ "

"Anyway, the 'Millenium Spice', huh? Wherever might that be? And why a Chinese restaurant?"

" _That asshole didn't give me any information other than the place's name. But that doesn't matter in the face of modern technology! Witness my power!_ "

Robin looked for the restaurant by typing the name on a search engine.

Apparently the 'Millenium Spice' was a high-class restaurant located in block 29. However, since Robin was not from this town, there were some parts he hadn't visited, even within Seihai High's territory. So now it was time to use Go#gle E#rth and have a good look at where block 29 was exactly.

" _Ah, here found it! And it's located in..._ " Despote having managed to motivate himself into doing the dirty work, Robin's excitement quickly faded away as he looked at the result.

"How far is that from here? Hey, Robin. Robiiiiiin?"

Arash tried his best to have Robin come back to his sense, by tapping him lightly on the shoulder, by waving his hands in front of his fish-like empty eyes, and eventually by giving his small slaps on both cheeks. Slowly, Robin came back to him with a sad expression that only further reinforced Arash's curiosity.

"Just what is the world is giving you a face like that?"

" _..._ _Say, how much do you treasure your life?_ "

"A pretty big deal, why? Just where in the world is this Chinese restaurant? On a battlefield?"

" _Nah._ "

"Inside a radioactive area?"

" _Nope._ "

"In the school's infirmary?"

" _Worse._ "

"That's preposterous! What could possibly worse than risking your limbs?!"

" _Take a look._ " Robin merely said and he handed the phone to Arash for the latter to inspect.

And then, it dawned upon Arash as well that they were in for a world of pain, and that it might actually be better to die of hunger inside those suits. Simply put, their objective was located in the eastern part of the town, quite deep into Sensou High's territory. Saying it was bad was an understatement; if they were to be found out by the students there, they might just get torn into pieces or worse, they might start a war all-together.

As an important side not, it was obviously not impossible for students from Seihai High to go into this part of the town – that would cause too much problems –, however they had to do so without wearing their school uniform lest they would be recognized as enemies. And of course, if your face was already known from fighting there was the chance they'd still pick on you.

As it stood, Robin's and Arash's uniform were actually not visible in the least, and not even their face was recognizable thanks to the pyramid heads. But...

"...We're pretty damn suspicious, aren't we?"

" _Scratch being suspicious. Walking like that around town, even at night we're bound to be targeted for looking like weirdoes and criminals. This...we can't do this, Arash._ "

"I know! But we have to, don't we? I mean, if we don't do it we'll actually die in these very suits; just think of our family when our bodies are found!"

" _They'll be ashamed for thirteen generations, right._ "

"Maybe we can find a way to avoid the street..."

" _And how so? We can take the train to move directly into their territory,_ _but the restaurant isn't next to any station so we have to finish on foot, so how could we possibly-..._ "

Robin suddenly froze in his tracks for an unknown reason, or so Arash thought until he followed his firend's gaze (or at least the general direction in which he guessed he was looking), and all at once he understood.

For the records, they were both looking up.

" _...Do you think about what I'm thinking about?_ "

"Yes, and I'm very afraid. It's a terrible idea no matter how I look at it."

" _We've gotta give it a try at least, maybe those nanomachines are good for something..._ "

"No! I refuse, there's absolutely no way I'm gonna climb up there and-"

* * *

" _-_ _Jump!_ " Robin shouted at his comrade standing on the edge of the opposite building. " _Don't chicken out now and just jump! It's not hard at all!_ "

"Like hell!" Arash retorted to his friend who had already crossed the gap between the two building roofs. "We're at least two hundred meters in the air! If I slip I can fall to my death!"

" _That'_ _d_ _just be the tenth time already... I mean, come on, did you see me struggle or anything?_ "

"That's easy to say for you, you're a country boy! Jumping from building to building has to be the worse idea you've ever had since you mentioned joining the stalking club!"

" _Hey now, I think that was a great id-_ "

"Anyway, there's no way I'm jumping over that chasm!"

" _Alright, alright you big baby. If you don't wanna do it yourself then let uncle Robin do it for you!_ "

Seeing that their quarrel wadn't leading anywhere, and since they had already lost more than enough time already, Robin made the jump back to the building Arash refused to leave, with an uncanny facility at that.

Just like he had guessed these grotesque quits they were forced to wear weren't completely useless as they seemed. Simply put, they enhanced physical abilities in some way or another. Robin didn't feel like a superhuman wearing it, but when doing a strenuous or important use of his muscles the nanomachines supported his movement, allowing him to achieve greater results with lesser efforts. That was why he was able to cross the gap between two building effortlessly once, and had no qualms doing it a second time.

"What do you mean by that?" Arash took a step back as Robin took a step forward, warry of any idea that could sprout inside this head of his. "That sounds really shady!"

" _It's not complicated: I'm gonna grab you and make the jump while carrying you. Hopefully the suit can help me carry your weight._ "

"I knew it, that's just another bad idea."

" _What do you mean? It's genius, purely and simply._ "

"It's not! You've made the jump once, so obviously you'll fail as soon as you try to carry me with you! Then we'll both fall to our death into each other's arms, and rumors are sure to be spread about a romantic suicide!"

" _Then stop be so difficult and just let me grab you, for the love of Nasu!_ "

"Who's Nasu."

" _My favorite specy of mushrooms._ _Giddy-up!_ "

Robin had successfully diverted Arash's attention with this random name that had appeared at the top of his mind for some reason. By the time the olve-skinned boy registered the answer, Robin had rushed over him and had grabbed his torso to lift him in the air. However, as he stepped n teh edge of the sky-scrapper, something he hadn't accounted for occured.

"Wh- Let me go! I swear, let me go! I'm afraid of height!"

" _So that was why?! Kh, stop struggling, I'm gonna lose my balance!_ "

"If you jump I'm sure to feel sick! At least spare me having to puke when I can't even remove that pyramid helmet thing! And you're tipping way too much over the edge!"

" _That's your fault! Stop or else...hu...aaaaaaAAAAAAAAA!_ "

And the unavoidable happened. Robin had already been one foot on the dge and ready to jump regardless of Arash's feelings, when the latter's struggle became too much for him (he was also wearing a nanomachines suit after all), and all of sudden, he felt his weight disappear to be replaced by the all-too-familiar feeling of falling: with conjugated screams the two friends plunged toward the ground like arrows.

But hope wasn't lost!

With a ' _pomf_ ' sound the likes of which could only be heard on a matress, the two's fall was fortunately softened by the presence of trash bags, disposed inside the alley in a pig pile that happened to be just below them. Thank god the pyramid head blocked off all smells from outside though.

They had nonetheless felt the shock of falling from a great height, and although their bodies were unharmed thanks to the nanomachines, they found themselves coughing and panting, unable to get back up immediatly.

" _..._ _Okay, maybe it wasn't that good an idea._ "

"No kidding, if we get one more big thrill like this I swear I'm gonna have a heart attack..."

" _I'm still sure it'd have worked out if you cooperated..._ " He whispered in his breath as to not add fuel on the fire. " _Ah, whatever. If we had to do the same scene again and again for each building there wouldn't have been any progress in the end...Wait._ "

As he stood up and stepped down from the pile of trash that had saved their hind, Robin looked around him and had a stroke of genius. He had just caught a glimpse of the ark that would lead them to salvation should they reach out for it.

" _Arash-_ _kun_ _. I've just witnessed a miracle._ "

"What is that supposed to mean exactly?"

" _I have an idea._ "

"No." Arash replied bluntly and dryly, without an ounce of trust.

" _Come on man, I swear I have a good idea!_ "

"And I swear I have a bad feeling! Your 'good ideas' only ever increased our troubles tenfold and I know it's gonna be the same this time!"

" _No, I tell you it's a real good idea this time! It's something completely normal!_ "

"...No shady thoughts?"

" _Nothing._ "

"...No dangerous stuff like clibing up buildings."

" _None of that jazz._ "

Slowly but surely, the defensive wall that was Arash's distrust of his friend's good judgement seemed to fissure. That probably had to do with his fatigue and despair in regards to the bottomless pit they had fallen into; he had to realize they needed a solution and that they needed it quickly. He hesitated a little, but eventually he came to a decision.

"Okay, what's your idea?"

" _I've realized something: moving around these parts of the town is only a problem if we're seen, right?_ "

"Well yes, but if it was that easy we wouldn't be struggling like that, would we?"

" _Indeed, but wasn't there something else to keep in mind? We're afraid of being assaulted by thugs in the streets. However, nobody would dare lay a finger on us if we're not walking down the pedestrian walk, right?_ "

"What are you trying to say?"

" _What if we were inside a vehicle?_ "

"Hum..." Arash held the edge of his pyramid in his hand in a pensive fashion. "That could work. That would actually work! And if we're just moving around the Police should leave us alone! Ah, but there isn't any bus still running at this time of the night. Damn!"

" _We don't need a bus. I don't have a licence, but back in my hometown I could drive my father's car._ "

"Oh, I see. So we just have to get you car and drive up there!"

" _Arash-kun._ " Robin walked up to Arash and put his hands on his shoulders. " _I don't have a car._ "

"..."

It took some times for the words to sink in. Robin couldn't this his partner-in-crime's expression beyond the helmet, but when his body shook he knew Arash had understood his intent.

"Y...you promised..."

" _We don't need to do anything dangerous. In fact, right now this is a flawless plan: nobody can recognize us in these suits, and we only have to take a short ride._ "

"But that's a crime! If we go through with it we're going to be criminals for good!"

" _We're already criminals!_ "

"We can still say we were blackmailed! You can't just lose any sense fo responsabilities just because we're disguised!"

" _Listen, Arash-kun: this isn't going to be a crime. Just think about it! We're only going to take the first car we come across, ride all the way to the Millenium Spice and come back here. We're not even going to keep it, so it's perfectly fine!_ "

"It's not! It's gonna go wrong again, I just know it! If we're caught, people are not gonna care to know if we were going to keep it or not!"

" _It's going to be alright, Arash-kun! It's going to be al-freaking-right. Whatever we do, it's not going to be life-threatening in any way so how about we just get done with it?_ "

"..."

Arash didn't answer this time around, but it was a very meaningful silence. Robin could already tell he was getting weary of this whole mess, so the idea of dealing with it once and for all probably sounded like honey to him. He was also panicked and stressed, so he was also more prone to make a rash decision. Although he hadn't replied back, the way he lowered his head and slouched his shoulders were telling Robin of his reluctant approval.

" _Good! Now, let's see...this car over there will do. It's not really big and looks simple, so we should be incognito._ "

"I'm worried to know where you've learnt things like this, Robin-kun..."

" _Well, I've found out quite young I'm pretty good at this kind of stuff._ _In between two slaps_ _m_ _y dad even said I was probably_ _a thief in another life._ " Robin was casually letting him on some disturbing details while crocheting the car's door. " _How does 'Robin Hood' sound for a thief's name?_ "

"Somehow I feel even more worried about you now..."

" _Hey now, it was just pretty boring in the countryside, you know! Plus all the guys I've stolen from had it coming...Ah, there._ " As he announced that a ' _click_ ' sound came from the car lock, and the door opened. " _Here we go._ "

Although he was still reluctant, Arash did come inside the car with him. He was holding his breath, in a way, not believing that things could go that well. Yet nothing had happened as of yet and the engine had already started rumbling.

" _See? I told you things would go well._ "

"We're still not out of those damned costumes..." Arash sighed. "But I guess not everything has to go haywire for us. It's not like we're in some kind of cartoon."

" _Damn, right. Anyway, here we g-_ "

At that moment, someone roared outside the car.

"Hey, what are ya doin' to my car ya fucks?!"

Arash's entire body shivered; Robin's hands crisped on the steering wheel. The car had already started moving, but they had to stop it abruptly because someone was standing in front of them on the road. The person whom car they were stealing right in front of their eyes was staring at them through the windshield with his eyes filled murderous rage. He was a stout man in his forties with a scar above his left eyes – and more importantly, hal his face was covered in tattoos you could only find in a certain environment.

Yep, it was a textbook exemple of a yakuza. And he wasn't alone: half-a-dozen people were standing near him, looking just as dangerou as him and wome already cracking their knuckles.

Meanwhile, the stout man kept shouting.

"Ya have a death wish, you fuckin' clowns?! Huh?! You better think of one while we gut yer sorry asses!"

"..."

" _..._ "

Because of panick – or was it delibarate? – Robin stepped on the gas and the car's motor roared louder than the man's aggressive shouts. Arash and Robin both screamed with a mix of deep fear and numbing madness. The yakuza's expression turned to fear and they joined in the cacophonous orchestra.

Some manage dto step aside, but the others (including the car owner) were thrown aside by the metallic chariot's engine cowl with probably a few broken bones. Even after realizing what he was doing, Robin didn't stop riding.

" _Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit!_ "

"I knew it! I just knew it! We are cursed! Freacking cursed! What do we do now, Robin?!"

" _Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit!_ "

"Robin-kun!"

" _I don't know! I don't fucking know! Damn it, damn it all! They still don't know who we are, so let's go to that goddamn Chinese restaurant already! We can't back down now!_ "

* * *

The Millenium Spice.

It was without a doubt one of the oldest, if not _the_ oldest Chinese restaurant in the whole of Burushitto City. It had been founded by Chinese immigrants who wanted to travel to the West, but accidentally headed East instead and had ended up in Japan. It was a luxurious restaurant that offered the best in terms of food from the mainland, and it had been passed down from parent to child for generations until today. Just as its name indicated, the Millenium Spice had spicy food as its specialty; but that those with a sensible tongue do not worry: decades of mastery and access to premium spices makes the whole incredibly tasteful and delicious~!

"Or at least that's what they say on the brochure." Arash concluded. "It actually sound pretty good."

" _I don't think that last part was necessary._ "

"But what if I want to have a bite later?"

" _Can you really afford a high-class restaurant?_ "

"I guess not..."

The two of them had finally reached their destination and had parked outside the restaurant to study the battlefield thoroughly. They probably looked like undercover cops, parking like that and staying inside the car – in other words, they were the epitome of weird. If one looked up 'suspicious' in a dictionnary they wouldn't find a definition, only a picture of them in this exact situation. But still, they didn't feel like stepping outside.

It was already a feat in and of itself that they had managed to calm down after the latest events, but now they had developed some form of paranoia. Not that they could be blamed. Now more than ever they were reluctant to head out to battle. After all, maybe there was another way? Who knew, there might just be another way of taking off these nanosuits – maybe if they got far away enough from Burushitto City the nanomachines would become weaker and they could get away.

That didn't feel like a bad idea, just getting as far away from here as possible, living the life of two wanderers and enjoying enough adventures for two seasons and a couple OVAs.

" _...No, if it came down to that I'd r ather it be alongside a girl._ "

"What are you saying, out of sudden? Are we going yet or not? Ah, I getting hungry just from thinking about this restaurant."

" _I get it, I get it! I'm the only one with a single bit of imagination here anyway..._ "

And so the stepped out of the stolen yakuza car and steeled their heart before heading toward the single entrance to the Millenium Spice.

"I wonder where the pink suitcase might be located. Say, the President didn't say anything about that, did he?"

" _Nope, that would be way too easy. And wait, you're calling him 'President' now!?_ " Arash had a point though; they knew who their opponent was but not where their objective was located. In the first place, why here of all place for a transaction? " _Don't tell me...! Hey, Arash-kun. I have a bad premonition._ "

"What is it?"

" _Don't you find this situation strange?_ "

"Which part of it?"

"... _Right. I mean, this place. Why do we have to pick up the suitcase here? If it is money we must exchange for that uranium shipment, why is it located in a Chinese restaurant of all place?_ "

"That's honestly not any weirder than anything that's happened so far. Actually, are we sure it's money we're looking for?"

" _..._ "

Hey now, Arash had said something dangerous here. Robin's bad feeling was coming closer to reality with each step taken in direction of their final battle. What was actually inside the suitcase? If it was money that Adam had prepared, then they probably only had to pick it up. However, the President never mentioned such a thing. The fact that he'd purposefully leave out details...

" _..._ _We're totally gonna have to steal it, won't we?_ "

"..."

" _..._ "

"...Whatever."

" _Yep, whatever. It's not like it'll be our first theft of the day, with the car and the breakfast cereals._ _The deeper in trouble we get, the less I feel like I care anyway. Private Arash, this is our last mission so keep your eyes open for our target!_ "

"Sir, yes sir! Sir, what will be our cover to infiltrate the restaurant?"

" _We'll just need to tell we're customers. That might actually leave us more leeway._ "

"So we're dine-and-dashing, huh..."

" _I don't call it dine-and-dash if I don't get to dine first, private Arash._ " And with these helmets, not a grain of food would enter their mouth to relieve them of their stomach growls. In fact, the hardest would probably to have them believe their here to eat. " _Keep an eye out for our objective, private Arash!_ "

"Sir, yes sir!"

In the end, they had departed with low moral and were now walking into the Millenium Spice in rank and in rythm.

The epithet ' _High-class restaurant_ ' wasn't an exaggeration, as Robin and Arash were quick to conclude by looking around: the Millenium Spice's interior was so richly decorated with a such a multitude of flashy and warm colors that they might as well have been at a summer festival. The decorations were all of Chinese style, as one could expect, and it further reinforced this feeling of luxury. The restaurant was spacious to say the least, at least in term of distance between the ground and the ceiling; this might as well have been a castle. And with the smell of spices floating around, their tasting buds were having a festival of their own.

But if we are to compare the establishment to a festival, then the climax of it – the firework of the Millenium Spice was without a doubt...!

" _Girls! Damn, the waitress here actually wear china dresses! That's the best!_ " It was Robin's imagination that was having a festival.

"I don't know, I find it a little pompous..."

" _I suddenly want to live here!_ "

"Huh? Wait...I-I think I saw one of them hide a knife under their clothing...!"

" _I suddenly want to get as far away from here as possible!_ "

Unavoidably, they attracted attention upon them merely by stepping into the spacious main room. The atmosphere created by the numerous chatters inside a restaurant was broken, and eventually everyone – customers and waitress alike – had gone silent and was staring at them.

Robin had already worked quite a sweat thanks to the various incidents that had occured so far, yet he still found it in him to perspire; such was the peer pressure of all these gazes directed in their direction. Not to mention the last time they had gathered such attention they were laying in the middle of the roadway.

"Actually, aren't they pretty muscular under their dress?"

" _I see you put your Peeping Eyes skill to good use,_ _private_ _._ "

"I have no such thing! Uh, aren't they glarring daggers at us right now? Yabai! They're totally identifying us as threats! I feel my will wavering, sir...!"

" _D-don't fear the enemy, private Arash! C-can you spot the objective?!_ "

"Yeah actually, it's right over there."

" _Wait, really?_ "

Robin followed Arash's finger with his eyes, and sure anough he could immediatly recognize a fuschia pink suitcase even amidst the kaleidospic decorations. It was standing on a pedestal, which iself was standing on a stage in the middle of the room. It was, without a doubt, the gem of the Millenium Spice considering the glass case adorned with gold surrounding it. As expected, it wasn't something just anyone could pick up and leave with.

But it was right there! They wouldn't have to look for it while avoiding guards and cameras (althouth Robin had brought a cardboard box just in case), it was right there just asking to be taken away by two suspiciously dressed highschool students.

Except...

" _...How are we even supposed to take it with everyone looking at us?_ "

"Sir, how about we rush the pedestal and make a run for it sir."

" _No. I have a terrible feeling about this, private Arash. A terrible, terrible premonition. Look, we are already being surrounded!_ "

The waitress had effectively made a semicircle formation with their knifes and guns out in the open – however it seemed they aimed to protect the suitcase more than they tried to effectively surround them. Nonetheless, it was a wall of muscle and steel that separated them from the flashy pink suitcase. As they had barely walked into the room, they could still turn back and run, but that wouldn't help.

" _Say, private. Does the Millenium Spice website make any mention of this suitcase_ _by any chance._ "

"Sir, I will check sir!" Arash took out his phone and searched through the website with the speed of a thousand furious momongas. "It's here...wait a second: ' _One of the most famous sights this restaurant has to offer is an inconspicuous pink suitcase which is the subject f many legends. Tradition has it that this suitcase belonged to the founder of the Millenium Spice, and he would have traveled from Chine to Japan carrying it. More importantly, it supposedly hold the secret recipes and ingredients behind the restaurant's success. As such, it is ferociously defended by the staff at all time!_ "

In the middle of Arash's explaination, someone barged into the dining room from the kitchen. It was a large, tall, buffed Chinese man wearing a cook's attire and sporting enough muscle to wield a machine gun. And he was actually wielding one! It was also at this precise moment that Robin noticed how the other customer had hidden under the carmine tables.

Arash was nonetheless able to finish:

"... _Many have tried to get their hands on the suitcase, without success. For some reason all of them were dressed in goofy disguises with pyramids for head."_

" _...Adam you asshole piece of sh-_ "

 _ **BRATATATATATATATAM!**_

The machine gun opened fire in a volley. Robin and Arash barely had the time to duke before the wall and door behind them was riddled with holes and glass shards flew in every direction.

Damn.

" _Kh! Retreat! We can't possibly face such odds with us two alone! Private Arash, let's fall back!_ "

"Sir, yes sir!"

That was really the best solution at the moment; this situation was too crazy, even by Robin's standards, and they suffered from a severe lack of intel which made him wonder whether Adam wanted his uranium or not. But they hadn't even made it to the now nonexistent door that they heard aloud noise of footsetps coming from outside. All of sudden, several burly men and a smaller, stout man entered gunn in hand, ready to shoot.

"S-shit! Who's the bastards attackin' our restaurant?!"

" _Are you kidding me!?_ " Robin almost choked when he recognized the yakuza whose car he had stolen and used to ride him over. " _I thought mafiamen only used restaurants as business in stories!_ "

"Huh? Ya...! Ya little pieces of shit, yer the fuckin' clowns who stole my whip! Imma kill ya punks!"

More gunfire rang out. This time the two friends owed their survival to the nanomachines which saved they for the second time this night. However, that didn't mean they hadn't felt the bullets.

"Ouch! Wh-what do we do, sir?!"

No good. Arash was panicking, and might do something rash if left alone. But at the same time an idea popped up in Robin's head: the Millenium Spice staff wasn't expecting the bonus gunshots either, and they seemed to be disturbed for a moment.

" _Listen, private! I have a plan, but we need to act quick while they just stare at us dumbfounded!_ "

"What must we do, sir!?"

" _You just go over there and knock out these yakuza to secure our exit!_ " He was pretty confident that he could do it, with the suit and the energy of despair. Having said that, Robin turned around to face the restaurant staff. " _I'll take care of the suit case._ "

He didn't wait for a reply from Arash – that would just have allowed the latter to protest – and sprinted in direction of the blockade with all his might. The waitress and the cook snapped out of their stupor and raised their weapons to welcome him. But little did they know...he had a trump card!

Suddenly and unexpectedly, Robin vanished from their visual field. It wasn't that he had swiftly moved to the right or to the left, nor was it that he jumped so high they couldn't see him – he litteraly disappeared as though he had never existed in the first place.

"何っ?!"

" **ど** **こ** **に** ...?!"

" **イ** ンポシブル!"

Their confusion was heightened when they heard a noise broken glasses behind them. They turned around, only to see a madly dressed ruffian (Robin) holding the fuschia pink suit case in his hands and brandishing it victoriously.

" _That's right, assholes! I can turn invisible!_ "

"...Seize him!" The cook shouted, and even before he did the waitress jumped toward Robin blade in hand.

" _Whoa! Wait, wait a sec- time out! Time out!_ "

Robin didn't have many option; he used the enhancing power of the nanomachine suit to jump from the pedestal all down to the ground, effectively dodging the wave of death aiming to dice him up. Maybe the nanomachines' effectiveness weared out with use because he still winced a little at the landing – but nothing his fear of getting mauled couldn't overcome.

He was relived to see Arash had successfully carried through his mission of clearing their exit (although he was still punching the air panickedly) and ran like never before. In a matter of seconds he had reached the devastated entrance to the Millenium Spice and grabbed Arash's arm to put him out of his frenzy.

" _You've done well, private! The mission is a success! Woohoo!_ "

"Sir, yes sir! Sir, they're still pursuing us, sir!"

" _Huh? WhoooOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Run, run faster!_ "

* * *

The chase that ensued was more intense and ridiculous than anything Robin could have imagined from watching American blockbusters. For starters, by the time they ran outside the restaurant, they were pursued by a handful of enraged waitress in china dresses, a trigger-cook with a machine gun and they had also officially made themselves enemies of some yakuza gang.

As soon as they were out, the first thing they did was rush for the car they had stolen – the small yakuza apparently hadn't seen it when coming here, so it was their best chance at survival. But their vehicle was recalcitrant for a moment, giving their opponents the time to get within shooting range. One thing was sure: they wouldn't be using that car anymore after this. It had enough holes to be Swiss cheeze, and with one door completely destroyed it looked like a car from a post-apocalyptic world.

Nonetheless, they had eventually manage to drive away from the rain of bullets and they thought they were out of trouble. What they hadn't accounted for was that the yakuza they had knocked out had called for backup before rushing in, and sure enough reinforcements arrived and didn't miss them. Following that was car chase with additional gunfire through the night streets of Burushitto City with many a sharp turn, and more than once did they almost crash against a building or a pole.

They survival was mostly due to sheer luck actually, as Robin didn't have the experience to handle such a situation while driving at 90 mph. He was improvising entirely, and to everyone's surprise it worked out better than it should have. Maybe it was because he changed streets and diection randomely, but their pursuers couldn't seem to figure out their pattern. This allowed Robin and Arash to keep their head start from beginning to end.

It wasn't without damages however. For started, they had lost yet another car door to one sharp curve that had them salute a wall and brought them a hair's breadth away from having an infarctus. Also, because they were panicking and had no regards for the city's physical integrity, and neither did the yakuza following in their tracks. In the end, it was hard to know who was responsible for the most damages, but they made enough havic to warrant the intervention of the police, which was the point things went awry.

Namely, the handbrake stopped functioning. They hadn't exactly treated it with care, so it wasn't all that surprising in hindsight. But it had to come at the worst moment when they were about to make a curve. What saved them at that very moment was their reaction time which had been reduced to a single second by the stress and adrenaline rush: they had jumped out of the stolen car just in time before the latter made a rather strong first meeting with a vegetable shop.

The landing did hurt sadly. The impact due to jumping out of a car racing at 95 mph was mostly absorbed by their miraculous get-up, but the latter didn't protect them from the ear-shattering explosion that followed the machine's sacrifice. For the span of a minute they were completely stunned with a loud ringing sound resounding inside their heads as though someone was hitting a gong right next to them.

But they had the suitcase, and they were alive.

They didn't know where to go however, as they hadn't had the time to contact Adam and confirm their success in retreiving the suitcase. Fortunately, they had made enough ruckus to attract the attention of their slave owner who gave them the exchange location. It wasn't too far fortunately, but at the same time another danger reared its ugly head: the Millenium Spice staff had caught up with them against all odds, and this time the cook had brought a bazooka with him.

No miracles this time, only running. Robin almost thanked Adam for those performance enhancing suits, butthen he remembered whose fault it was that he was in trouble to begin with.

The meeting location was one of the city's churches, although this tone was far less visited than the one in the northern area. Not to mention, this one was located within Seihai High's territory, so the northern thugs wouldn't come all the way here. However, nothing would stop the restaurant staff from skining them alive here, the best bet was to exchange this damned suitcase asap and switch the aggro to somebody else.

Faster than words could described, the church was in view. All that was left for them to do was dash in a straight line like ostriches.

And just as they were but a dozen meters away from their objective, with their pursuers still hot on their heels-

"Yorokobe, shounen."

""-!""

A cloacked figure emerged from the shadows of the church, and ran past the two fugitive. Robin wanted to warn them, to tell them it was too dangerous. But he was too late; the mysterious man pulled out something from his cloak – a plate filled with a crimson red content.

At once, the Millenium Spice staff froze in their tracks and even seemed taken aback, glarring intensely at the newcomer. Their was also fear and horror in their eyes, and after a couple second of hesitation, they decided it was best to retreat, as fast and as far as humanely possible.

But they were not fast enough.

 **Y**

 **O**

 **R**

 **O**

 **K**

 **O**

 **B**

 **E**

* * *

"Do you think we lost them for good?"

This question had been a whisper, echoing softly through the church's interior. The two fellows hadn't witnessed the conclusion of this great chase directly, being unable to supress their fear and go back to help the cloaked man. They wouldn't even dare raise their voice above a muttering.

"Hey, wasn't that guy supposed to be our dealer? What should we do now?!"

" _Calm down! Even if he's dead, there still that option of running away I menti-_ "

"I don't want to live the life of a fugitive beyond tonight!"

" _You think I do?!_ "

"Now, now." A third voice reached them from the church's entrance, making their heart jump out of their chest. But turning around they were surprised to see the cloaked savior walking up to them without haste. "You've done well in reaching this place alive."

" _Y-you! How are you...!_ " He was wordless to say the least.

"These lost lambs may have disguised as wolves, but in the end they couldn't hold up in the face of true despair." He only came to a stop once he was almost at arm's reach, and with his hand held out toward Robin he beckoned: "The suitcase, if you will."

" _...! You can have the damn suitcase! No, please take it from us! Here!_ " The wasn't an ounce of hesitation here; nothing to waver about. " _But you know, your voice sounds familiar. I could swear I heard it somewhere before._ "

"Who knows..." The mysterious dealer gladly accepted the suitcase before opening it to check the content. "...Yes, this is what I've been after. Finally, I'm getting closer to 'its' completition."

And after closing the suitcase again, he walked away, merging with the shadows once again.

"Your uranium is inside a truck outside the church. The keys are on the contact." Were his words of farewell.

And sure enough, there was a large truck parked at the back of the small church – and there was someone else waiting for them here.

"Mwahahahahahahahahahahahaha * _cough cough_ * hahahahahahahaha! Well done my minions! I had my doubts at the beginning, but you've proven yourself to be ressourceful and capable with this mission!"

It was no other than the origin of all their miseries, the lunatic pyramid-headed Adam Weishaupt. He greeted them with arms wide open and his trademark (failed) laughter.

" _..._ "

"..."

Thinking about it, it was Arash's first time seeing their employers. Incidentally, he seemed reluctant to make a single step toward him. Therefore, it was Robin's job to walk up to Adam and wipe the late clean.

"So, how did it feel for a forst time? Surely now you realize how great it is to be a minion under my rule! After all, with my help your success was alm-"

" _Oi._ "

"..."

Robin would have been justified in inflicting any punishment onto Adam, considering what the latter had put them through. It wasn't that he didn't want to punch him square in the face – he was itching to do it – but there was something more important, a matter that couldn't wait no matter what.

 _~Growl~!_

" _...Treat us to dinner, asshole._ "

"..."

" _..._ "

"...Nanomachines!"

* * *

 **The Chairman's Notes**

 **Robin Hood**

 **Stats:**

 **Litterature: C**

 **Math: C**

 **P. E.: B**

 **Sciences: B**

 **Economics: B (suspected of cheating however)**

 **Skills:**

 _ **Subversive Activities:**_ **He's that one friend who says 'I have a good idea' all too often. Overall a pretty shrewd individual.**

 _ **Golden Rule:**_ **A pretty good thief apparently. However the nature of his looting would have him arrested for sexual harrassment instead of just theft.**

 _ **May King:**_ **Can turn invisible somehow. Probably why he's so good at stealing. Still, he should see a doctor.**

 **Overall:**

 **Expected him to be a problem student, but he's lying surprisingly low. His grades are good on the whole, if pretty average, but he seems like a honest student at heart who wouldn't get embroiled in some shadowy business.**

 **P.S: That being said, he recently suscribed to a life insurance...**

* * *

 _Thank you for reading!_

 _Hey guys and gals, it's been forever since the last chapter! And it will probably be forever befor ethe next, unortunately, as I give more priority to Fate/Rongodamiant. Still, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

 _A fun fact about this today's chapter: I entirely improvised from begining to end. At the begining, only the pre-title part was planned, and the rest was supposed to be about an entirely different theme. However, before I knew it I just had to go on with the current subplot, despite having no idea what to write about. Hell, the two poor bastards were not supposed to go on any mission originaly!_

 _Also, it's been a few months since I've entered college and so far it doesn't seem like my writing pace will be disturbed. For now..._

 _Once again, thank you for reading! Don't hesitate to somment, review or ask a question!_

 _~Legends Storyteller_


End file.
